JLC wrote: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.
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