WASHINGTON — Legendary coach Joe Gibbs spoke at length Thursday about the progress of the Washington Redskins under head coach Jay Gruden and quarterback Kirk Cousins.

In an interview with 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier, Gibbs fondly recalled the joys of coaching the Redskins — “the greatest sports franchise in the world” — the pressures that entailed, and how that relates to the current coach-quarterback dynamic.

“When I got hired there, a lot of people don’t remember this, but I started out 0-5 and people,” he said with laughter. “I was just looking for a different way home at night in Washington. My kids were afraid to go to school. In case you don’t know it, Washington fans are passionate.”

Previously the San Diego Chargers’ offensive coordinator, Gibbs was a relatively unknown quantity when he took over the Redskins in 1981. Indeed he stumbled out of the gate, opening the season with consecutive losses to NFC East division rivals — Dallas, New York, St. Louis [Cardinals] and Philadelphia — and another loss to San Francisco, before righting the ship to finish his debut season 8-8.

“I was close to getting run out of town but somehow survived that,” he said. “And let me say this: That’s what you want as a coach. I told Jay when I talked to him on the phone the day he got hired — I had a quick phone conversation with him — and I said, ‘Look, you’re going to get to coach the greatest sports franchise in the world in a town that absolutely loves the Redskins. It’s all anybody talks about. It affects the whole week of work for everybody there. It’s the greatest place in the world to coach.’ And I think that’s what you want as a coach. It would be awful to be coaching some place where it’s not that important.”

The Redskins didn’t fare well under Gruden in his first season, finishing 4-12. Thirteen games into year two, with Cousins under center, they’re 6-7 and in a three-way tie for first place with the Giants and Eagles. For Gibbs, how they finish means everything.

“Here’s what happens. If you play well at the end of the year, you can build on that for the next year,” he said. “That’s going to have a lot to do I think with how you’re positioned next year. And of course, to get in the playoffs, you just got to get hot at that point. And we saw some teams do that in the past and wind up going all the way to the Super Bowl.”

Gibbs can’t recall specifically how he first came to speak with Gruden, but it sparked his memory about something else.

“I remember he was riding in the car,” he said. “It may have been with Bruce [Allen] or something, and they just called and I had a quick conversation. I don’t even remember how it took place. But really, what I was kind of saying to him… one of the greatest things in the world, I think, is to have a chance to coach some place where what you’re doing, he’s one of the most important people in Washington. It’s a thrill.

“And I remember all the things about the fans and the way they treated our family. My wife, Pat, used to sit there at old RFK and every time we scored there was a guy about five rows down that would stand up in his seat — that was about 75 years old — and do the hula, and everybody would cheer. Those are the things that you remember from coaching there. Those are just such great memories.”

“We had a reunion here of all the guys from those first 11 years and those four Super Bowls, and 90 of our players came back,” he said. “And when they came here to Charlotte and we sat and talked about things, that’s exactly what they talked about is all the memories, all the things that happened in practice, the fans, how they were accepted. Almost every single one of them when they got up — I thought I’d be the only guy that felt this way — they said that was one of the greatest times in my life with some of the greatest memories. And it was heartfelt from all those guys.”

Gibbs also spoke of Gruden’s decision to tap Cousins as his starting QB, one he says may prove to be Gruden’s defining moment as a head coach.

“The important thing is the coaches are living it,” he said. “I mean I’m not living it. I’m sitting on the outside looking in. I think what they’ve done with Kirk — obviously he’s a great person — they’re sold on the fact, and working through all the things with your quarterback. We all know it’s one of the biggest decisions you make in sports is the quarterback that you pick to lead an NFL team.

“Each year, when we wind up in the playoffs, what happens? You look at each one of those teams and odds are, if they’re in the playoffs, they’ve got a quarterback that’s hot, that he is playing at the top of his game. And so I think the coaching staff there, having gone through everything with Kirk, I think they feel like there’s somebody here that you can build around.

“And obviously we’ve seen games this year where, I think, you know, he’s playing hard, he’s playing better the farther he goes in his career, here. And so I think the coaches there, those guys are living it, and so they know — whoever they put at quarterback and they put that ball in his hands on every play — he’s going to have a lot to do with their future. And so, man, I trust the coaching staff there from that standpoint and I think they’ve made up their mind. I think Kirk’s somebody they feel like they can build around.”

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