When Washington Redskins owner Jack Cooke made the fateful decision, along with his general manager, to hire Joe Gibbs as the team’s new coach in 1981, he did so with the belief that Gibbs had the potential for greatness. After watching him serve in an assistant capacity with the Chargers, Cooke believed that Gibbs could mold his team into a championship contender. And though fans of the team were not so certain, they still held out the hope that their team’s management knew what it was doing. The next decade had to have been more than any of them could have imagined.
A good place to start
Gibbs’ first season as coach of the Redskins set the tone for his tenure. After losing the first five games he coached, there were many fans who wondered exactly what their beloved team had done when they hired the man. Gibbs was bolstered, however, by the unwavering support of the team’s owner, and a spark was lit when Cooke declared that he had no doubt his team would finish eight and eight on the season because he just knew Gibbs would turn things around. As it turned out, he was right. Washington rallied around their new coach and did finish that season with an 8-8 record. That was just the start of the great things to come.
The first Title
Amazingly, that first campaign set the tone for the next season. And what a season it was! Gibbs’ Redskins charged through the regular season, and then battled through the playoffs to earn a spot in Super Bowl XVII against the Dolphins. Few fans had forgotten how Miami had beaten their Redskins in Super Bowl VII, which made the Washington ten-point win in this Super Bowl all the sweeter.
A record of success
In 1983, the Redskins posted a 14-2 record and once again fought their way through to the Super Bowl. This time, however, they were beaten handily by the Raiders – despite being odds-on favorites to win. After a few more successful seasons that saw the team post eleven, ten, and twelve win records, the Redskins found themselves back in the Super Bowl once again, this time facing the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII. The Broncos never even had a chance to get going as the Washington team crushed them by 32 points. It was the team’s second Super Bowl win, and had the Gibbs-era Washington Redskins firmly entrenched among the NFL’s elite.
All good things…
It would only be another four years until Gibbs would have the team competing for a third Super Bowl. During Super Bowl XXVI, the Buffalo Bills were brutalized by the Redskins throughout most of the game, and Gibbs eventually sent in the second string with only three quarters of play completed. After winning that Super Bowl, Gibbs retired. And even though he did coach the Redskins for another four seasons a few years later, the Gibbs era will forevermore be associated with that period in which the team won three Super Bowls.
Freddie Brister is a huge fan of all sports and recommends checking out his Washington Redskins Blanket and Washington Nationals bedding at his shop.