Athletes - Joe Gibbs

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	Athletes - Joe Gibbs

Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is a Hall of Fame football coach and NASCAR Championship team owner. During 12 seasons in the National Football League he coached the Washington Redskins to eight playoff appearances and four Super Bowls, winning three of them. After retiring in 1993, he switched focus to his NASCAR team, Joe Gibbs Racing, which won three championships under his ownership. In 2004 Gibbs came out of retirement to rejoin the Redskins as head coach, signing a 5-year contract.

Early career

Gibbs attended Cerritos Junior College and then San Diego State, where he played tight end, offensive guard and linebacker on the football team, coached by Don Coryell. Gibbs graduated from SDSU in 1964 and earned a master's degree in 1966.

Gibbs began his career with a stint as offensive line coach at San Diego State under Coryell (1964-1966). He held the same position at Florida State (1967-1968) before serving under John McKay at Southern California (1969-1970) and Frank Broyles at Arkansas (1971-1972). Gibbs then rose up to the National Football League, hired as the offensive backfield coach for the St. Louis Cardinals (1973-1977) by head coach Don Coryell. After a season as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1978) under McKay, Gibbs rejoined Coryell with the San Diego Chargers (1979-1980).

As the offensive coordinator for San Diego, Gibbs spearheaded the highly-successful "Air Coryell" offense. Using a sophisticated passing attack, the Chargers and quarterback Dan Fouts set multiple offensive records during Gibbs' two seasons there, notably becoming the first team to average more than 400 yards of offense per game. After 17 years of coaching as an assistant, in 1981 Gibbs was offered a job as the head coach of the Washington Redskins by Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke.

Washington Redskins career (1981-1992)

After firing then-head coach Jack Pardee, Cooke was on the lookout for candidates. When general manager Bobby Beathard pointed out the forty-year-old San Diego assistant coach, Cooke saw potential in him and Gibbs was hired.

Gibbs' first season with the Redskins started inauspiciously when the team lost their first five games. However, the losses served as a catalyst, and the newly-motivated team improved and reached an even 8-8 record for 1981.

Gibbs' second season with the Redskins (1982) realized the dreams of the entire Redskins fanbase: an NFC Championship Game and a Super Bowl victory. In a strike-shortened season, the team advanced through the playoffs and eventually won Super Bowl XVII by beating the Miami Dolphins, taking revenge for Washington's loss to Miami in Super Bowl VII.

The following season (1983), Gibbs' surprising success continued and the Redskins once again won an NFC Championship, advancing to Super Bowl XVIII. The Redskins were an overwhelming favorite going into the game, but proved overconfident, collapsing and being crushed by the Los Angeles Raiders.

Three years later, in 1986, Gibbs coached the team back to the NFC Championship game, but lost to the New York Giants. It was to be his last championship game loss. The following season (1987), the Redskins got into the playoffs and reached Super Bowl XXII, where they rode on the arm of quarterback Doug Williams to blow out the Denver Broncos.

Four years later, in 1991, Gibbs' Redskins were the most dominant team in the league. They won their first 11 games before finishing the season 14-2, and cruised through the playoffs to the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XXVI, the Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills, giving Gibbs and the team their third Super Bowl title.

After one more season of coaching, Gibbs suddenly retired in early 1993, surprising many. A notorious workaholic, he had begun to suffer some health problems, and he cited a desire to spend more time with his family.

In 1996, Gibbs was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is one of the winningest coaches in NFL history, with a record of 124 wins and 60 losses, and a post-season record of 16 wins and five losses. His combined winning percentage of .683 is third all-time (behind Vince Lombardi and John Madden). In his 12 seasons, the Redskins won 4 NFC East titles, reached the playoffs 8 times, and finished with a losing record only once (7-9 in 1988). Gibbs is also the only NFL coach to ever win three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks (and also three different starting running backs).

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Athletes - Joe Gibbs

Early career

Washington Redskins career (1981-1992)

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