Loading ...When thumbing through the list of former Washington Redskins head coaches, one name rises above the rest: Joe Jackson Gibbs. ESPN's Rick Reilly is willing to take it one step farther, listing Gibbs as the second greatest coach in the history of the National Football League.
He does acknowledges that his selection isn't without controversy, however:
OK, here's where you start throwing shoes. But it goes back to quarterbacks. Nobody has ever come close to doing what Gibbs did, which is win three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks, none of whom are in the Hall of Fame. That's like crossing the Pacific in a Little Mermaid floatie.
Reilly ranks Joe Gibbs behind Vince Lambardi, who shouldn't garner many arguments in his position as greatest coach of all time.
Gibbs was head coach of the Washington Redskins for two stints, beginning in 1981 through 1992 and shocked everyone by returning in 2004, after nearly twelve years out of the league. He finished his career in coaching with a 171-101 record (62.9% winning percentage) and retired among the all-time greats in combined winning percentage (regular and post-season). He became the only head coach in NFL history to win three SuperBowls with three different starting quarterbacks and running backs; a feat that may never be repeated. He was inducted in to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1996.
