[SFREDSKIN]

They should bring back Dan Riley, he was with the Skins in the 80's and part of the 90's before he went to Houston and lost his job last year or the year before.

Riley probably was more responsible than any other single person for making weight-training a regular part of an NFL player's training. Until he left Penn State to join the Washington Redskins in 1981, weight-training had been a crude, occasional off-season routine.

Players did sometimes get strong in the off-season, but they lost that strength as the season wore on because coaches refused to give up their precious practice time for training they didn't understand.

Joe Gibbs did understand. He gave Riley the power of a coordinator. If Riley told Gibbs a player lacked the right kind of work ethic, Gibbs usually got rid of that player.

Gibbs was the first NFL coach to give up practice time to allow players time to lift. He also made weight-training sessions mandatory during the regular season. Gibbs would be the first to tell you that Riley was a huge reason the Redskins won three Super Bowls.

Some Dallas Cowboys would tell Washington players, ''We can dominate you guys physically early in the season. We hate playing you late because you're still strong, and we've lost something.''

When Charley Casserly became GM of the Texans, Riley had been one of his first hires. Redskins owner Dan Snyder had pleaded with Riley to stay in Washington and had offered big money.

Riley left anyway because he trusted Casserly more than he trusted Snyder.