Gibbs Puts Stock in His People

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Coach Joe Gibbs became a Hall of Fame coach after winning three Super Bowls in a dozen years with the Washington Redskins from 1981 to 1992. During his hiatus from football, Gibbs found similar success heading a NASCAR racing team. Gibbs believes that choosing the right personnel has been a big factor in his success in and out the NFL. In his second Redskins stint, Gibbs brings a coterie of his former assistants to help mold a roster that was transformed during an active season.

"For me, all team-building things I've been involved in, first of all is picking the right people," Gibbs said, "which is one of the hardest things in the world, because people, they may not look like they're really talented but they are.

"They may fill out the resume and it looks fantastic and they're not. And most of the time, what we're trying to evaluate is what's in here," Gibbs added, pointing to his heart. "So I think the most important thing for any leader is how he picks the people, because if you pick the right people, they're going to make you look good."

Gibbs also stresses communication to get the best results, whether from modern-day NFL or players from a bygone era.

"And then, as far as communication goes, I think there's basic principles there," Gibbs said.

"No. 1, you never embarrass somebody in front of their peers. You always talk to them one-on-one if it's serious. I think you try and teach people in communication. They need to hear it, they need to see it, and then preferably they need to do it. So you need to address all those three areas.

"And not everybody is the same. Everybody has a different hot button. Some people you have to get on them some. Some people you give them a little sugar and they'll die for you."

Gibbs used Ernest Byner, his former tailback, and the team's running backs coach as an example.

"Every time I ran a plan and he made a mistake, he'd get off the ground and go, 'I know, I know, I know,' " Gibbs said. "In other words, don't tell me. He didn't want somebody else telling him. He was self-motivated, he was going to teach himself. Those are some of the people that you'd like to have. Everybody is not that way."

-- Nunyo Demasio