Redskins’ real progress made between coach and owner

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Rick Snider: Redskins’ real progress made between coach and owner

WASHINGTON - Redskins coach Joe Gibbs once asked former owner Jack Kent Cooke for $1 million to sign a reserve quarterback — a princely sum in 1986. Cooke trusted his coach enough to pay it with little reservation. Two seasons later, Doug Williams led the Redskins to a Super Bowl victory.


There was a closeness between owner and coach that proved the foundation for success. Twenty years later, Gibbs has it once more with an owner who grew up idolizing him.

Need $2 million annually for an offensive coordinator to take over some duties? Even Gibbs joked few owners would do that. How about lots of dough for sanitizing the locker room areas to combat staph infections that are becoming increasingly troublesome around the NFL?

No problem.

It’s not the bolstered receiving corps that may turn the Redskins a serious Super Bowl contender this season. Nor is it a healthy offensive line or eight free agents.

The Redskins are finally a serious football operation once again — instead of a marketing company with a football team — because Gibbs has the ear of owner Dan Snyder without the latter’s interference.

Snyder has never been afraid to spend money. In fact, he overspent the first few years with 2000 becoming the fool’s gold of payrolls. The salary cap was wrecked for years because of Snyder’s unchecked zeal.

But Snyder gained more than a coach in Gibbs. He drew someone with ownership experience, too. Gibbs learned how to put together a team as a NASCAR owner during his time away from the Redskins. Now he has shown Snyder how to do it, too.

Snyder didn’t know how to support coaches before Gibbs. Snyder undermined Norv Turner in 2000 after the beleaguered coach finally learned to run the operation. Marty Schottenheimer hammered Snyder so badly in his one season the owner let him go instead of finding a way to keep a good coach happy while sharing power. Steve Spurrier was just a bad pick for the pro level.

Gibbs’ return needed time to mesh after 11 years away, but one thing he did right away was establish a strong bond with the owner that allowed both to work well together. In fact, it works so well Snyder now feels free to take over a theme park chain and develop a radio network.

Snyder trusts Gibbs enough not to interfere. Gibbs has rebuilt the football operation to the point he can now become a quasi-owner in overlooking all team functions while letting someone else run the offense.

Gibbs seemed more relaxed Sunday on the eve of training camp than the first two years. Maybe six straight wins before a playoff loss restored his confidence. Perhaps he just knows the rough organizational times might be past.

When you work as a team in the offices, it spills over onto the field.