In a stunning move, Joe Gibbs will return as coach of the Washington Redskins, a team he led to three Super Bowl titles.
Gibbs signed a five-year, US$25 million contract, matching the NFL-record deal given to predecessor Steve Spurrier, according to a source within the NFL, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The desire to coach has always been with me, even after being away from the game for 11 years," Gibbs said in an announcement on the Joe Gibbs Racing Web site.
Spurrier quit last week with three years left on his contract after two losing seasons. Under Spurrier, the Redskins went 7-9, then 5-11.
"Joe Gibbs helped define what the Washington Redskins stand for -- integrity, hard work, determination, winning and championships," owner Dan Snyder said. "Who better to set our strategy and lead the Redskins back to championship glory?"
Gibbs will be introduced at a news conference Thursday, according to the source.
The Redskins made the playoffs during eight of Gibbs' 12 seasons, and his .683 winning percentage ranks third in NFL history. His record was 124-60 in the regular season and 16-5 in the playoffs, including Super Bowl victories after the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons -- each with a different quarterback.
Since Gibbs retired after the 1992 season, the Redskins' five coaches went a combined 74-101-1.
Burned out from long days and nights in the NFL -- he was known as a workaholic who sometimes slept on a cot at Redskins Park -- Gibbs left football and has been running a successful NASCAR racing team.
He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
He was involved with a group that attempted to purchase the Redskins after owner Jack Kent Cooke's death in the late 1990s, and he and two partners bought a combined 5 percent of the Falcons for US$27 million in 2002.
The Redskins have budgeted US$5 million a year for a coach, the amount they were paying Spurrier. Gibbs has to give up his ownership stake in the Falcons to take the Redskins' job.
The mere mention of Gibbs' name brings instant credibility among the players, who had become disenchanted with the losing atmosphere.
Even though most have never met Gibbs, his legacy left a long shadow.
"You can just walk through this building and look at those Super Bowl trophies, and that will tell you enough about him -- even if you were too young to watch the guy coach,'' tackle Chris Samuels said.
The Redskins have made the playoffs just once since Gibbs retired, suffering through a decade of losing despite aggressive ownership moves.
Snyder has become the master of the big offseason splash since buying the team in 1999, signing star players such as Deion Sanders and Bruce Smith.
None of it translated to success on the field, however. The Redskins have had four consecutive nonwinning seasons.
Gibbs, 63, will find today's NFL different from the one in which he coached. He led the Redskins during the last years before free agency and kept together a corps of talented players for the better part of 10 years.
Such continuity rarely exists now in an era in which players switch teams regularly.
The Redskins interviewed at least three other candidates: former Giants coach Jim Fassel, former Vikings coach Dennis Green, and Seahawks defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes.
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