Legendary coach Joe Gibbs isn’t at the Super Bowl this year because he’s preparing his Joe Gibbs Racing fleet for the Daytona 500 next weekend, but he was in Detroit for the Commanders’ huge playoff victory, and has been around for a lot of this season’s success.
So, when he joined BMitch & Finlay on the phone on Thursday, he had to crow about it, and about that special signal-caller they got in the draft.
“I’, enjoying our football team, it was awesome, a great run this year,” Gibbs said. “As we know, quarterbacks come in all different packages – Mark Rypien in ’91 wasn’t a runner, but we had just nine sacks, because he was football brilliant – but Jayden is the complete package. He plays the game really smart, is a great runner, has great instincts in the pocket, and is really an accurate passer, too. Everybody's looking for is the total package, and I think we may have it.”
And perhaps more impressive than Jayden the player? Jayden the person.
“I haven’t spent much time with him, but I think all of us in Washington are studying him, because he has one of the toughest jobs in the world,” Gibbs said. “When I was talking to Doug Williams and everybody around the draft, they all said he’s a great person; character comes first no matter what with players, and when you see him play, too I think it just gets everybody excited, and I think that is a huge part of us going forward.”
Gibbs had a lot of love for new owner Josh Harris, too, and the new regime he has put in place.
“Josh and his team did a fantastic job of picking the people that were going to actually run the show; Dan, and Adam Peters, and the decisions he's making, it just takes a lot to put all that together,” Gibbs said. “So, I think that's the most impressive thing about what's taking place this year, to put it together in such a short period of time, and then to get all the way to a championship game. I think that gives every Washington fan great hope for the future.”
Gibbs’ era was like that, and he knows just how much pressure is taken off of you when you know you have the right systems, and right people, in place.
“One of the things we love about football is certain teams get a great feeling about themselves, and have a confidence. Teams are a lot like a person – sometimes we have great confidence, and certain teams grab that,” Gibbs said. “I think that's kind of what happened here; leadership comes from your players, and I think Dan has done a great job there of picking players. And, in the draft, to be able to do what they did, I think it says a lot. They put together kind of an unbelievable first year, so that gives everybody confidence.”