

Joe Gibbs expressed his approval of the Redskins’ hiring of Jay Gruden (John McDonnell)

NEW YORK—It has been 22 years since the Washington Redskins last reached — and won — a Super Bowl under Joe Gibbs.

But Gibbs, the team’s former three-time Super Bowl-winning coach, said here Friday that he is pleased with the Redskins’ recent hiring of Jay Gruden as their coach and he remains convinced that owner Daniel Snyder eventually will succeed in finding a way to get the franchise back to a Super Bowl.

“I do,” Gibbs said. “A lot of people ask me questions. And of course every time I get a chance to talk about Dan, I try to tell people that when I was there he did every single thing he could do to help me win. And when we lost football games, it was my responsibility, not his. He did his part. And if it was 12 o’clock [midnight] on free agency, he was there with me and we wouldn’t leave until 8 in the morning. So I really feel like Dan — all it takes is the right combination. If we get the right combination together, I think Dan will do what he needs to do as an owner. That’s for sure.”

Gibbs spoke in the Super Bowl media center in a Times Square hotel in Manhattan.

His three Super Bowl victories came in his first stint as the team’s coach. Gibbs returned and coached for four seasons under Snyder, reaching the playoffs twice but failing to get to another Super Bowl.

The hiring of Gruden is the Redskins’ latest attempt under Snyder to recapture their past Super Bowl glory. Gruden had been the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals and was hired after the Redskins fired Mike Shanahan following a 3-13 season.

Gibbs expressed his approval of the move.

“I’m excited,” Gibbs said. “When I talked to Dan, he said, ‘I’m totally relaxed that I think we got the right person.’ You pick up on all the things he says and the fact he’s actually been running an offense, making the calls from the sideline and he’s going to do the same thing with the Redskins. So you have a good feeling about the offense. And he went out aggressively, went after his defensive staff and special teams. That’s a crucial thing to go with his skills because he’ll be on offense. I think everybody seems to be excited about it and I think he is. I told him, ‘You’ve got the greatest job in the world. I think you’ve got the right owner, somebody that cares and will do whatever it takes to win.’ I said, ‘You’ve got the greatest fan base in the world, the greatest franchise.’ ”