NFL: Redskins Coaching Search Should End Here

Mercifully, the Redskins’ 2000 Season of Great Expectations is over. Despite a five-game winning streak after starting off 1-2, they failed to live up to expectations, losing to a bunch of bad teams and getting their coach fired. Now they need to hire a new coach. Or do they?

The team’s owner, Daniel Snyder, likes big names. He’s interested in Bill Parcells, Steve Spurrier, Dick Vermiel, or the ultimate name in this town—Joe Gibbs. He is not going to get any of them. Parcells is happy in his front office job with the Jets and doesn’t want to be micromanaged by a meddling owner. Spurrier makes over $2 million a year to coach in the SEC and play the little sisters of the poor every other week. Vermeil is retired. And Gibbs, the holy grail of coaching in this city, the man who brought three Vince Lombardi trophies to town? He owns a NASCAR team, spends time with his two sons that a football schedule never allowed, and he’s not interested.

That leaves us with the second-tier candidates, all of whom are second rate. Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham and former UCLA boss Terry Donahue are high on that list. Lou Holtz has been mentioned, and I don’t think he would be a bad choice. He has a way of making his team think they are the worst bunch of losers to ever step on a gridiron and they need to play their hearts out to win a game. That is exactly what the Redskins need. Other names that have been mentioned are Art Shell, the Hall of Fame offensive lineman and former Raiders coach, and Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer.

But the best candidate is already in the job: Interim Head Coach Terry Robiskie. He knows the team and the organization. He was given the impossible task of winning three straight games (albeit against terrible—Dallas—to mediocre—Pittsburgh—teams) to get the Redskins into the playoffs. He was given the keys to a rusty Chevrolet and asked to turn it into a Cadillac in a week, something that would be an incredible feat for anyone, much less a first-time head coach. As soon as Norv Turner was fired, this team was downcast and quit.

Several players and coaches have already professed a respect for Robiskie, and their return hinges on his being retained without the “interim” in his title. The most important person to fall into this category is Defensive Coordinator Ray Rhodes, who has said he may not be back if Robiskie is not retained. This would be a disaster, as he helped improve the defense from 30th last year to to a top-ten unit in 2000. Irving Fryar said he definitely would not be back if Robiskie wasn’t back, and the 38-year-old was the top wide receiver down the stretch.

Robiskie may not be the best grammarian in the world, but he knows football. He held an end-of-season press conference on Tuesday, and he spoke about several subjects as if he were going to be here for sure next season. He wants to build through the draft. He wants to hold training camp at a remote site where the players can bond, avoiding the circus that was training camp last year. He wants to rely on Jon Jansen and Chris Samuels, the two best young offensive tackle tandem in the league, and improve the depth up the middle of the line. And finally, the most exciting thing is that he wants to put the ball in Champ Bailey’s hands. You need to do that: get the ball to the fastest, most dangerous weapon on your team (definitely not Deion Sanders). The cornerback picked off a pass in the end zone Sunday against the Cardinals. He also played offense and had two receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown run.

If Dan Snyder has any sense at all, his coaching search will begin and end right where it is, but with his history, I’m sure it won’t. Robiskie isn’t flashy and doesn’t have enough name recognition, and that works against him—at least in Snyder’s eyes. Sure, Snyder is a millionaire, but he doesn’t know football. He should pay attention to guys like Fryar and Rhodes. He won’t. Ladies and gentlemen, the next coach of your Washington Redskins: Chuck Noll!