Joe Gibbs Steps Down as Redskins Coach
By JOSEPH WHITE - AP Sports Writer
ASHBURN, Va.(AP) Joe Gibbs' second NFL retirement was much like his first. It came as a surprise, and it was all about family.
On the one-year anniversary of his grandson's diagnosis with leukemia, and less than a year after one of his sons left town to return to the family NASCAR team, Gibbs resigned Tuesday as coach of the Washington Redskins so that he could devote more time to what he called "the most important thing I'm going to leave on this earth."
The 67-year-old Hall of Fame coach, coming off an emotional season that included the death of safety Sean Taylor and a late run into the playoffs, said Redskins owner Dan Snyder tried to persuade him to stay on during a conversation that lasted until about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
"My family situation being what it is right now, I told him I couldn't make the kind of commitment I needed to make," Gibbs said during a news conference at the Redskins' practice facility, standing a few feet from the three silver Super Bowl trophies he won during his first tenure with the team.
Speaking about his family, Gibbs added: "I felt like they needed me."
Snyder said he "tried very, very hard" retain Gibbs as coach.
"This is something none of us wanted to see happen," the owner said.
The news startled players, who left Sunday's final team meeting certain Gibbs would return for the final year of his contract. Gibbs signed a five-year, $27.5 million deal when he returned to coach the Redskins in 2004, having been lured away from his second career as a NASCAR owner.
"That's part of this business _ it's full of surprises," safety Pierson Prioleau said. "Most of us suspected he would be back, and he'll definitely be missed."
