Dan Henning back to the Redskins?

Why do think Gibbs, with the exception of last year, has struggled so much in his second incarnation as coach? Why haven't we seen the Skins play now like the teams of the 80's and early 90's?

Plain and simple. He coaches not to lose. He was bad in 04. But he gets a pass for that year. 05 was better. But he should have realized that starting Brunell in 06 was going to be a mistake becasue Brunell was slumping the last half of 05. Then he left Brunell in too long in 06. He did this in 04 too. It's like he's scared to let young guys play. The whole Rocky M. thing was just a joke too. Holdman's not a playmaker. That's not adjusting to today's NFL. IMO he gets one more year and then we have to move on. Give me someone like Sean Payton or Mangini. Two young coaches that coach not to lose. And I bet you the OC on NE, Josh MacDaniels is going to be an NFL coach within 3-5 years. Enough of this glory days BS. That was 14 -15 years ago?

Plain and simple. He coaches not to lose. He was bad in 04. But he gets a pass for that year. 05 was better. But he should have realized that starting Brunell in 06 was going to be a mistake becasue Brunell was slumping the last half of 05. Then he left Brunell in too long in 06. He did this in 04 too. It's like he's scared to let young guys play. The whole Rocky M. thing was just a joke too. Holdman's not a playmaker. That's not adjusting to today's NFL. IMO he gets one more year and then we have to move on. Give me someone like Sean Payton or Mangini. Two young coaches that coach not to lose. And I bet you the OC on NE, Josh MacDaniels is going to be an NFL coach within 3-5 years. Enough of this glory days BS. That was 14 -15 years ago?

Yeah, like the Ditka quote, "If you live in the past, you die in the past." I still have faith in Gibbs, though, a ton of faith for that matter. I don't think the final chapter's been written on his great coaching career yet! I would be right there with you, and a lot of other Skins fans for that matter, living in complete dejection and hopelessness, if it wasn't for that '05 playoff season. That season showed me that he can still get it done! I think the right adjustments will be made heading toward the '07 season, and all this doom and gloom talk will hopefully be silenced!

no more coaches. please.

I like Henning but the last thing we need is another offensive coach.

BB and his staff are HANDS DOWN BETTER. Gibbs 1, different story. No one was better than Gibbs and Ritchie. No one!! But Gibbs 2? Where are the half time adjustments? Why all the time outs to think about kicking FG's? Why don't we attack the other teams weakness on offense? Did you notice how NE played Minn and how we played Minn? Now I know we don't have Tom Brady but NE ( and Miami for that matter w/ Harrington) played 4-5 WR sets becasue they knew Minn was very tough to run against. They made Minn's defense look stupid by throwing 10-20 yard passes the whole game. WHEN DOES OUR OFFENSE DO THIS? NEVER!!! Any NFL QB should be able to throw medium range passes, especially when you have 50 WR's on your roster. NE has cast offs for crying out loud. But they game planned for that specific team and it seems we never ever do this. Our game plan ( on offense) is try and run everyone over. Well that shit is not working against top run teams. You have to adjust but it seems we never do. That's pure coaching.

I know what you're saying here, and I agree -- Gibbs has coached like a scared rabbit this time around.

But I think you've answered your own question -- New England has Tom Brady, we had Mark Brunell.

That opening game against Minnesota was maddening. The Skins came out with the same level of intensity they showed all preseason -- the intensity of a corpse. It set the tone for the season, and the gameplan likely wouldn't have mattered as long as the players performed like they were 85 years old.

Plain and simple. He coaches not to lose. He was bad in 04. But he gets a pass for that year. 05 was better. But he should have realized that starting Brunell in 06 was going to be a mistake becasue Brunell was slumping the last half of 05. Then he left Brunell in too long in 06. He did this in 04 too. It's like he's scared to let young guys play. The whole Rocky M. thing was just a joke too. Holdman's not a playmaker. That's not adjusting to today's NFL. IMO he gets one more year and then we have to move on. Give me someone like Sean Payton or Mangini. Two young coaches that coach not to lose. And I bet you the OC on NE, Josh MacDaniels is going to be an NFL coach within 3-5 years. Enough of this glory days BS. That was 14 -15 years ago?

I agree whole-heartedly. One more year without success and that should be it. What would be the point in seeing a fifth season? Wouldn't that be enough embarassement for everybody- the fans, the franchise, and Gibbs himself?

I'm glad this topic is getting more airing. I, too, am tired of all this "wake up the echoes/Lord of the Rings/glory days" crap. Despite the late push to the playoffs in '05, I believe Gibbs II has been a failure across the board- personel decsions, game-planning, in-game coaching. 21-27 and one playoff appearance in three years is the one and only bottom line. Based on the pattern established thus far I see no reason to feel that Washington will be dramictically better next year (8-8, maybe), something I feel is unacceptable considering the time and money that will have been invested in this coaching regime by the end of next season.

I will always love Gibbs for what he's meant to this franchise- the guy was one of my childhood heroes. But at some point it stops mattering what you did 15, 20, 25 years ago. This is 2007, not 1982 or 1991. At some point you either need to win or go home.

I feel like the field of top quality head coaches in the NFL has expanded since Gibbs first tenure. Assistants seem to have more responsibility and are better prepared and there's a lot more "thinking" involved because you can't count on just having a whole team of top flight talent for years to come.

So I don't think it's so much that Gibbs has lost a step. I just think he's not a cut above most of the rest anymore. The irony, of course, that a lot of these new coaches probably learned a lot from watching film of Gibbs back in the '80s

I feel like the field of top quality head coaches in the NFL has expanded since Gibbs first tenure. Assistants seem to have more responsibility and are better prepared and there's a lot more "thinking" involved because you can't count on just having a whole team of top flight talent for years to come.

So I don't think it's so much that Gibbs has lost a step. I just think he's not a cut above most of the rest anymore. The irony, of course, that a lot of these new coaches probably learned a lot from watching film of Gibbs back in the '80s

Possibly, but whatever the case the bottom line is that his methods are not producing on a consistant basis, and that's what he's getting paid to do. It's hard to blame the players at this point because he's in his third year of having final say on all personel matters.

If he's no longer a cut above the rest, I think we should go out and find someone who is. One more year.

As long as the structure for acquiring players for this team stays intact, it won't matter who the coach is. Giving up draft picks for heymakers in the free agent market, while HOPING they pan out has not, and will not work. It's one thing if draft picks don't work out - you still have next years draft and a bit more cap space to work with to make it right.

But when you mortgage the future for a quick fix, well ... we know what happens then.

As long as the structure for acquiring players for this team stays intact, it won't matter who the coach is. Giving up draft picks for heymakers in the free agent market, while HOPING they pan out has not, and will not work. It's one thing if draft picks don't work out - you still have next years draft and a bit more cap space to work with to make it right.

But when you mortgage the future for a quick fix, well ... we know what happens then.

The problem is that Gibbs embraces the very structure you've pointed out as lacking. As de facto GM as well as coach, there is very little about this organization that can't be traced back directly to Gibbs.