RI: Early reflections

Redskins Insider (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/)

A few things stand out off the top of my head.

The front office structure will need some overauling. If Gibbs is not a consultant and not team president, then who will be atop the personnel pyramid? Vinny Cerrato? Will Gibbs retain that (as a consultant that would be quite rare). In the end, as Joe said again yesterday, Snyder has a massive say in their moves and acquisitions, so his voice remains. But you have to wonder how they figure out the front office. Also, heard from a bunch of people around the league who say that if Bill Cowher ever did come here, he would to have his own personnel people in place, which would mean no more Vinny, and this owner has a very close relationship woth Cerrato.

Also, if Gibbs was going to retire, why did he even speak about the QB situation at all? Why not leave it alone? Was it that important to go crazy about Collins and stir things up for Jason? As a consultant to Snyder Joe would have say in some matters, but not picking starting QBs or opening up competitions. Odd that Joe would even go there.

But the few definitive things he did say were that he wanted Collins re-signed and that he wanted to retain his staff. If you read the tea leaves, going to bat for the staff, and wanting his guys to get another contract out of this, would mean that you stay in-house.

But with this franchise and this owner, you just never know.

AND:

Everyone here at Redskins Park is pretty stunned. One staff member who was in the room at 9 a.m. when Joe Gibbs informed the coaches of his decision said: "I am shocked and numb." The strong sentiment from the players and people here I spoke to today is that Gregg Williams should get the job, and that's coming from offensive and defensive players alike.

One former Redskin, who speaks daily to many of his former teammates, said: "It has to be Gregg, there's no doubt about it. If they go from outside guys will be pissed. Unless they want to tear up the team and go with a different group of guys, it has to be Gregg."

Spoke to some people close to Russ Grimm, a former Redskin and longtime esteemed NFL assistant, who said his current team, Arizona, had not been contacted by the Redskins. Of course, we are very early in the process so things could change. Bill Cowher, former Super Bowl coach with Pittsburgh, will be a name everyone talks about as well.

Jason Reid just spent some time alone with starting WR Antwaan Randle El, who played on Cowher's championship team in Pittsburgh. Randle El voiced strong support for Gregg Williams: "I want the best coach for the job and Gregg is certainly at the top of the list, no doubt. I would love to see him get it just 'cause we've gotten going with the crew that we have here. I would love to see Gregg keep it and let's keep our offensive coordinator. Let's keep all that intact."

Gibbs would commit to virtually nothing during his press conference Monday, but did say that he wanted to retain the coaching staff. As most are in their final year of the contract - and some, like LB Coach Kirk Olivadati, have contracts that are expiring - there would have to be a round of contract extensions in that case.

Spoke to the agents for several prominant coaches and coaching candidates this morning. They all said they believed Williams would get the job, but that was just their reading of the situation and did not come from conversations with Gibbs or Snyder.

Snyder loves Joe and no doubt Gibbs's voice will carry heavy weight with ownership.

Four years, only 1 playoff win, 31-36 overall. Sigh. Not what any of us hoped for or expected. I appreciate the good group of players, but aside from that Coach Joe didn't exactly kick ass in his return. I guess you really can't go home again. I appreciate his intentions, and I do think he had us back on track to being a winning franchise, but now what? Back to toiling under the Danny and Vinny? Grrrrrrrrr...........

Gibbs 2.0 created a strong organization of loyal, dedicated, never say die players but not a winning team. Yes they made two playoff appearences, which is more than most teams can say. But this team spent more than most to get there and they did not get there.

Well, that at least gives me hope that Williams will be the next coach.

Well, that at least gives me hope that Williams will be the next coach.

So will he be Williams 2.0 since he was previously a head coach?

So will he be Williams 2.0 since he was previously a head coach?

Only when people want to bitch about how he's too conservative.

Gibbs 2.0 created a strong organization of loyal, dedicated, never say die players but not a winning team. Yes they made two playoff appearences, which is more than most teams can say. But this team spent more than most to get there and they did not get there.

Who cares what the team spent? The team went with a quick and dirty approach (i.e., free agency) in lieu of spending 3 years trying to build a competitive franchise out of a roster filled with guys like Shane Matthews, Rod Gardner, etc. Given Gibbs' age, I don't fault them for that approach.

After 4 years we have a roster with decent depth, some quality starters and, perhaps most importantly, what appears to be a franchise QB. Moreover, after having gone 12 years with 1 playoff appearance, I'm happy with 2 playoff appearances and 1 playoff win in 4 years.

Only when people want to bitch about how he's too conservative.

Speaking of that, what is his legacy (besides losing some players with his style) from Buffalo? Can anyone speak on that?

Gregg Williams MUST be the successor to Joe Gibbs.

We talk a lot about how Jason Cambell probably learned quite a bit as he watched Todd Collins operate Al Saunder's offense, but I also have to think coach Gregg Williams took away some invaluable lessons about leadership, character, and, yes, even coaching at the master's feet. It's quite possible that while Gibbs made some missteps on the field during his second tenure, the true impact of his return may have been the deposit he made on this coaching staff, particulary Gregg Williams.

I think more than know how, the players on this team want family to take over. After all they've been through together this season, I just can't see an outsider trying to get these guys to play for him. NFL players respond to coaches that have people skills and thrive under adversity.

Finally, Gregg Williams has restored the luster back to the defensive unit. Finishing eighth in the NFL 'aint too shabby. He's going to get back a couple of key starters from last year, Laron Landry just might be developing into one of the better safties in the NFC, and we've found our on the field general in London Fletcher. Williams has a good foundation to build on, and I think the players actually want him to be Gibbs successor. Let's hope so.

Who cares what the team spent? The team went with a quick and dirty approach (i.e., free agency) in lieu of spending 3 years trying to build a competitive franchise out of a roster filled with guys like Shane Matthews, Rod Gardner, etc. Given Gibbs' age, I don't fault them for that approach.

After 4 years we have a roster with decent depth, some quality starters and, perhaps most importantly, what appears to be a franchise QB. Moreover, after having gone 12 years with 1 playoff appearance, I'm happy with 2 playoff appearances and 1 playoff win in 4 years.

Agreed 1000%. Rating our payroll or how expensive our coaching staff is, is a job for analysts and media who have nothing better to do and need to create a story where one does not exist.

Becoming a consistent playoff team is hard. Especially when all everyone remembers is the glory days.

I'll say this, with only a handful of exceptions, I'm a lot more confident about where this team is headed than most in the NFL, and all but one or two in the NFC. Maybe that's Kool-Aid, though.