NFL: Each team’s greatest head coach in franchise history

Washington Football Team: Joe Gibbs (1981-92, 2004-07)

No offense meant to coaches such as George Allen or Ray Flaherty (who had two pre-Super Bowl championships), but Joe Gibbs is just the first name that comes to mind when thinking of great Washington Football Team head coaches.

He joined the team in 1981 coached until 1992. During that span, Gibbs was a remarkable 124-60 and was a threat to win it all every season.

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In just his second season with Washington, Gibbs won the franchise its first Lombardi Trophy. That came following a strike-shortened season that saw Washington go 8-1.

To prove this was no fluke, Gibbs and the Washington Football Team returned to the championship game the following season. They lost to the Oakland Raiders, but it showed they were for real.

It wasn’t long before Gibbs had them back in the championship race, as he again led them to a title after the 1987 NFL season when they knocked off the Denver Broncos.

The 1991 NFL season again belonged to Washington, as Gibbs led them to a win in Super Bowl XXVI over the Buffalo Bills. In all three Super Bowl victories, Gibbs used a different starting quarterback. Joe Theismann defeated the Miami Dolphins, Doug Williams clobbered the Broncos and Mark Rypien bested Buffalo.

Due to health concerns, Gibbs left the team after the 1992 NFL season. He later returned to the field as the Washington Football Team head coach in 2004. He spent four more seasons with the team and had two winning campaigns, including a 9-7 mark in his last year.

Overall, Gibbs was 154-94, which is still the most wins in their long history — and it’s not even close.