Posts Tagged ‘gibbs’

Joe Gibbs Interview With Clinton Portis

Joe Gibbs recently posted an interview on his website with Clinton Portis. The interview centers around Portis’ relationships with Sean Taylor and Coach Gibbs. I recommend checking out the entire interview, here’s a few of the highlights:

Playing for Joe Gibbs:

It was the best thing that ever happened to me. But I will say that Gibbs ran us into the ground! Coach Gibbs taught me how to become a man and to take responsibility for your actions both on and off the field. I have the greatest respect for him as a person and all the hard work and dedication that he put in- not only as a coach, but also as a mentor and friend. He would always give his honest opinion and had the ability to talk to you without being judgmental. He cared about his players more as people then he did about us winning games. Don’t get me wrong…he loved winning too. He got the best out of you when it came to football, but I think it came from how much his players respected him.

His relationship with Sean Taylor:

The way that Sean developed as a player and how he grew to trust Coach Gibbs was just outstanding. He never complained and always worked hard. For example if it was hot outside then he would go outside and run in a full sweat suit and if it was cold he would come out in shorts and a t-shirt and fight through the chills. You would never hear Sean give excuses like it’s too hot or too cold. I remember one day I came in to work out and Sean was there dressed in jeans, flip-flops and a sweater. He said that he would run with me so I didn’t have to work out by myself. So he ran 100’s with me and when we were done running I find out that it was his third time working out that day. He had run with every group that came in to work out that day. He was just that kind of guy

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Hearing about Taylor’s death:

I remember getting a knock on my door at 6 a.m. and I could tell as soon as I saw Mr. Snyder’s [owner of the Redskins] face through the peephole that this was not news that I wanted to hear. I opened the door and Mr. Snyder was crying and before he could say anything I said, “Don’t tell me that.”

And Mr. Snyder replied, “He’s gone.”

I felt like this was all a bad dream and this couldn’t actually be happening. There is so much that goes through your mind when you get news like that. When you start to reflect on your last moments or last conversation with that person you feel like there is so much that you wish you had said, so much that you wish you could have done, should have done, etc.

Portis goes on to say he’s still keeping in shape for another shot at playing or in order to look good in front of a camera. I wish him nothing but good luck.

Cheers and Hail

Gridiron Gala: Party Like It’s 1991!

Cheers and Hail

Big Boy’s Take On The Redskins-Cowboys Rivalry

What does the Cowboys/ Redskins rivalry mean to me? Very simple….everything. It’s the good guys against the bad guys. The blue collars against the white. It’s the greatest rivalry in professional sports! George Allen, a journeymen coach arrived in Washington in the early 70′s with his brand of football. He had no time for rookies. Just give him veteran players with something left in the tank, and something left to prove and we will be successful. Oh, one other problem….he also knew that to be successful with the Redskins, he had to beat the Dallas Cowboys. And so it began. It just seems that over the years they have been a tuxedo and we have been a pair of brown shoes. We had pickups they had BMW’s. We had something to prove and they had what we wanted.

At the age of 37 I am still a big sports fan, however I’m not near as emotional about it as I was in my youth. Except 2 times a year. It just builds in me from Monday to Sunday. It consumes me. Dallas week is still as emotional in my life now as it was then. I can still hear my mom talk about how Clint Longley came off the bench for a injured Roger Staubach to beat us. How they knocked us out of the playoffs in ’79. How we got some redemption in the ’80′s, a very successful decade for us but always a snag or two from guess who. How my childhood friend Mike Dellinger, who was as die hard a Cowboys fan as you will ever find, would chat all week about the importance of the game. I remember how each of us hated to be on the losing end the morning after and that phone would ring. Oh man!

My greatest memories of the rivalry? I have many but I will share my favorite. It was during the second Joe Gibbs era. It was Monday night September 19, 2005. My cousin Herman and I were at our local watering hole. We had been suffering a few dismal years in the rivalry. The Skins were down 13-0 and couldn’t do a damn thing on offense. Some guy at the end of the bar got up to go to the bathroom and in passing, said something that did not sit well with us. Words were exchanged which led to pushing and shoving. After the altercation was broken up, the bar divided, things got settled down and the game went on. The guy left, but vowed that he would be back. And he did, he came back wearing a Cowboy’s jersey with several other Cowboys fans. We we got into again, this time the result was the Cowboys fans were asked to leave and not come back. Two long passes later we win 14-13! The remaining Redskin’s fans in the bar all cheered and hugged one another and all was good.

The best part about it was the reaction of the coach. Here’s a guy, a Hall of Famer, Superbowl winning coach, Sprint Cup champion car owner. If you remember his reaction after the game it was very moving. He knew at that place and time what the rivalry means to him, to the players, and all of us fans.

Jeff Collins

Boss Hog

I would like to pay my respects to the greatest NFL position coach of all-time, Joe Bugle. For 31 NFL seasons, Buges has been the mark that all other coaches should be measured by. Whether you are a hall of fame coach, or a rookie coach, you know you’ll be better with Buges on your staff.

Buges has been around so long that he coached Romeo Crennel at Western Kentucky 40 years ago! During this time, Buges roomed with a grad assistant by the name of Jerry Glanville in a one bed apartment! After a coin flip, Buges won the bed, forcing Glanville to the floor to sleep on newspapers! I’m laughing at the thought of Jerry sleeping on papers, and leaving Elvis tickets at the W. KTY ticket gate. Buges and Jerry lived off pizza and donuts during this time (who doesn’t) because they had no $$ and had a couple players who worked at the pizza and donut shop. Many nights Buges and Jerry would stay up late drawing up plays on one of the pizza boxes. Maybe 50 gut was a specialty pizza!

Did you know that Buges was the O-line coach for Bum Phillip’s Oilers in the late 70′s? No wonder Earl Campbell had those big holes to run thru! The Oilers defeated the Chargers in the 79 playoffs, a Chargers team who had an O-coordinator by the name of Joe Gibbs.

In 1981 Gibbs and Buges joined forces with the Skins. Soon after, The Hogs were born. Buges took guys that were old, undrafted, and undersized, and made them the meanest, baddest, mfer’s in the league.

When Gibbs came back, the only way it would have felt right was with Buges. We got Buges, and we should never let go. I was worried that Buges would ride off into the sunset with Joe, but we are lucky that he stuck around. Zorn is lucky that he has a guy like Buges to lean on. Buges coaches up the young guys, and stands behind the veterans. He is our rock.

So, for the man that was born 68 years ago in Pittsburgh, PA, lets knock this Steeler’s team in the mouth! Let’s make them bleed! Because I know if Joe could strap on the pads, someone would be bleeding.

Cheers and Hail

The Last Word in Big D