Joe Gibbs: Coach of the Year?

In 2006 the Washington Redskins ended the season with a 5-11 record.  An uncharacteristically slow offseason netted them very few additions to that same 5-11 squad.  They lost a talented Left Guard in Derrick Dockery in free agency as well as a few other veteran players.  The starting Quarterback in 2007 was to be Jason Campbell who had only 7 previous starts.  Adding insult to injury the Redskins 2007 schedule pitted them against a league high 9 playoff teams from 2006.  It is safe to say that the Redskins 2007 team was not expected to do very well.  Most projections had them winning from five to seven games in 2007. 

The season opened with the Skins already nursing injuries to star players Clinton Portis and Chris Samuels.  Both of these players recovered quickly and are playing well, but the injury bug didn’t stop there.  The first victim was stalwart Right Tackle Jon Jansen who was lost for the season in the first game.  In week two Right Guard Randy Thomas tore his tricep.  He would eventually go on IR.  The line from 2006 had already lost three of its starters (counting Dockery) two weeks into the season.  The injuries continued to mount as the Skins had to place key players on Injured Reserve.  Those names include the already mentioned Jansen and Thomas as well as starting cornerback Carlos Rogers, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, and starting linebacker Rocky McIntosh.  The young but promising quarterback Jason Campbell was starting to turn a corner when he was lost (ostensibly for the year) in the Thursday night game against the Bears.  In addition to those players on IR, the skins have had numerous star players and starters miss time this year.  Those names include; Marcus Washington, Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle El, Fred Smoot, Sean Springs, Todd Wade, Casey Rabach, James Thrash, Mike Sellers, Philip Daniels, Rock Cartwright, and Stephon Heyer.  Its not just that the Skins have had a lot of injuries, its that most of those injuries have been to starters.  Whole units have been decimated to the point that the Skins undrafted third string right tackle Stephon Heyer was backed up by an undrafted and then converted Defensive Tackle Lorenzo Alexander.  It was so bad at one point that the Skins had to sign Reche Caldwell, and Keenan McCardell off of the street to be able to have four active wideouts on the roster. 

The injury situation was already pretty bad when the franchise player, the most talented player on the team, Sean Taylor was injured and couldn’t play for two weeks.  Sean Taylor was the heart and soul of the defense.  He was the last line of defense.  Defense coach Gregg Williams has stated multiple times that Sean Taylor was the most talented player that he has ever coached.  Sean Taylor left the line up for what was thought to be a pretty minor injury.  He would never return.

On November 27th the star free safety was shot in his home in a botched burglary attempt.  He would later die of his wounds.  Sean Taylor died protecting his family from thugs. 

The team lost a heart breaking game against the Buffalo Bills before they could even bury their teammate.  The next day they flew to Florida for his funeral.  Then three days later they had to play once again against the Chicago Bears.  That was the game that saw Jason Campbell go down. 

Given the horrors of this season, given the trauma of losing a friend and teammate in such a senseless manner, and given the volume of injuries to starters would you be surprised if I told you that the Skins were out of the playoff picture and only playing for pride?  Would you be surprised if I told you that their record was 4-10.  Well, Surprise!  They aren’t 4-10, they are 7-7 and in the thick of the NFC wildcard race.  The last two spots in the wildcard are down to four teams; the Giants, Vikings, Saints, and Redskins.   If the skins win their next two games they are in the playoffs. 

Coach Joe Gibbs has received a great deal of criticism in his second tenure as head coach of the Redskins, and rightly so.  Some of the personnel decisions made by Team President Joe Gibbs were horrible.  Some of the botched calls and time management snafu’s by Head Coach Joe Gibbs were laughable….if you aren’t a Redskins fan!  Criticism is deserved.  But the reality is that this team is nothing like those great teams of the late 80’s and early 90’s.  Those teams were thick with talent.  This team struggles to take the field with enough players to finish a game. 

But, despite the injuries, the bad luck, and the tragedy of this season Joe Gibbs has created a team that has immense heart.  And this injured and hurt group of players is still fighting and still competing for a playoff spot.  That is something that deserves to be commended. 

Take into account that the seven losses that the Skins have faced this year were to teams with a combined record of 70-29.  With the exclusion of being blown out by the Patriots the Skins lost those games by an average of 5 points.  They have only lost to one team with a worse record than they have now (The 6-8 Eagles).  Of their seven losses four were to the Packers, Bucs, Cowboys, and Patriots who have all already won their respective divisions. 

In the Giants game the Skins started with Todd Collins at Quarterback.  This was Collin’s first start in ten years!  They played the Giants in the Meadowlands where they haven’t won since 2003.  The weather was awful with 20+ mph sustained winds.  They Redskins secondary was so depleted that Sean Springs, the teams best cornerback, had to play safety.  For most of the game the skins lined up Laron Landry and Reed Doughty (who?) at safety, so in essense they have two rookie safeties.  Yet despite this they won!

So, I ask you, who deserves the Coach of the Year award more than Joe Gibbs?