In struggling comeback season, Gibbs plans to return as coach

ASHBURN, Va. -- As a coach, Joe Gibbs is in the Hall of Fame. As a team president, he's a mere rookie. Like most rookies, he has mixed results to show for his work.

"My assessing myself comes down to wins and losses," the Washington Redskins coach said. "Not real good, right now."

Two weighty issues have dominated the talking points at Redskins Park this week as Gibbs struggles with a 3-8 record: Would the coach be better off with a general manager, restoring the checks-and-balances dynamic that helped him win three Super Bowls, and will he guarantee that he will coach next year?

The second question stems from an ESPN report Sunday that Gibbs, a 64-year-old diabetic, would possibly step down as coach at the end of the season for health reasons. Gibbs is so tired of denying the report that by midweek he was questioning the professionalism of the reporting involved.

"If I would have worried about that (report), I'd probably be in the nuthouse," Gibbs said. "I don't think you can spend anytime worrying about stuff like that. It's ironic. You'd think there'd be more professionalism in the reporting of things."

Even so, Gibbs has declined to be definitive about his return, always adding the caveat it is his "intention" to do so.

"My intentions are to be right here," Gibbs said. "That's my intentions, Lord willing. There's a lot of things that can happen."

Gibbs says his health is good, and he looks fine, showing little more than the usual fatigue associated with repeated 20-hour days. The only time this season he has looked thoroughly exhausted -- and perhaps in need of a rocking chair -- was the week before the first game. Gibbs later attributed that worn look to nervousness about returning to the sidelines for the first time in 12 years.

Gibbs, who has a five-year contract, did say he would quit if he ever felt he couldn't turn the team around.

"If I ever reached the feeling that I was holding things back, then I'd fix it," he said.

The GM question is more intriguing. During his first run, from 1981-92, Gibbs had Bobby Beathard and later Charley Casserly as sounding boards who had the credentials to tell the coach no, if necessary. There were disagreements, but no one could disagree with the results.

In this go-round, Gibbs has final authority over player selection and works with owner Dan Snyder and vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato, whose spotty track record over the past five years hardly gives them the clout to dispute whatever Gibbs wants.