It is difficult to compile a list of the greatest leaders in sports without giving serious consideration to Joe Gibbs. Gibbs is unique among his peers. As a football coach in the 1980’s and 90’s, he won three Super Bowls as the coach of the Washington Redskins. Only Pittsburgh’s Chuck Noll has won more (4) NFL titles. New England’s Bill Belichick and the late Bill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers also won three. But Gibbs had the unique accomplishment of winning each Super Bowl with a different quarterback (Joe Theismann -1983, Doug Williams - 1988, and Mark Rypien - 1992).
After the 1992 season, Gibbs retired. Like many ex-coaches, Gibbs made a move toward broadcasting, but there was a surprise behind his story. While most coaches retire from the burnout of 16-18 hour days, Gibbs had other ideas. In 1993, to the surprise of many sports fans, he announced the formation of Joe Gibbs racing, a venture into the competitive, and increasing lucrative, NASCAR auto racing series. Unlike the NFL, the Winston (now Nextel) Cup series begins its season with its most important race, the Daytona 500. In their first major race as a team, Gibbs Racing and its driver, Dale Jarrett captured the Daytona race, an amazing accomplishment for any racing team. For a brand new team without a first tier driver, this was a phenomenal feat.
Although Gibbs made another unsuccessful foray into the NFL, his record as a football coach and racecar owner is unparalleled. He is one of a very select group to have led a team to a championship in two separate endeavors. He has also accomplished this while leading a diverse group of personalities, as bold and brash as Joe Theismann or Tony Stewart, to the low-key and cerebral, such as Jarrett. Along the way, he has shown the capacity to change strategies to help his team’s situation. In football, his Redskin teams were known as a run first, pass later offensive attack during his early years, but may be best known for a Super Bowl record 35 point outburst during the second quarter of Super Bowl XXII against Denver. This barrage of points was due to a heavy passing attack, which was considered to be very unlike Coach Gibbs.
When deciding on a subject, it seemed more sensible to focus on a more traditional type of leader, like a CEO or a general. However, Coach Gibbs has always fascinated me because of his demeanor as a leader in two sports best known for their speed, fast pace and violence. Race drivers have died from accidents and even Theismann’s career ended on a gruesome note, as Giant linebacker Harry Carson landed on his leg during a sack, causing one of the most disgusting breaks ever seen on live television, illuminated by the slow motion replays.
In spite of his environment, Gibbs is a very quiet, low-key individual. He is not a man of few words, but unlike many of his coaching colleagues, all of them could be repeated on television during the family hour. Gibbs is notorious for his religious upbringing, his devotion to Christ and his squeaky clean language. In an interview from the early 1990’s, one Redskin noted that the worst word he ever heard out of Gibbs’ mouth was “buns,” uttered during a halftime pep talk.
Fortunately, Gibbs has been generous in offering his views about leadership and life success. His book, “Game Plan for Life” begins with a large dose of humility from its principal author. Says Gibbs,
· “But despite what a few sportswriters and a kind business associate or two have said along the way, I'm about as far from being an intellectual as you can get. I was a P.E. major. You know, physical education: ballroom dancing and handball!”
He goes on to note that it should be no surprise that his name is Joe, as he is as average as any other man, and aside from three Super Bowl wins and three NASCAR championships, he is really not much different from anybody else.
Gibbs’ two greatest leadership traits are determination and integrity. As a coach, his nights at Redskins Park were long and legendary. The story of the coach sleeping in his office three nights a week are true as is the story of Gibbs taking a nap on the locker room floor right before a crucial playoff game. His integrity is based on Christian-centered beliefs.
In terms of leadership theory, Gibbs adheres to two main focal points. He emphasizes the importance of having a game plan. In his model, the coach contrasts his former position as the guy on the sideline with the white pad in hand to one of his crew chiefs on the NASCAR circuit, also noted by a headset and white drawing board. He believes in making the plan and most importantly, sticking to it.
However, Gibbs’ leadership theory also is contingent on working with the best people available. He notes the importance of finding the best man for the job. While not a gender friendly term, he is quick to note that he is known for his work with men on the football field and the racetrack. He believes in giving the man a plan and allowing him the opportunity to see it to completion.
This ability to lean on others has worked best with the skills model. Gibbs’ teams have been well known for their ability to adjust on the “fly,” whether it was during halftime of a football game, or in the pits at Darlington. One theory behind the Redskins to reach the Super Bowl during Gibbs’ second stint suggested that the shortening of halftime from 15 to 12 teams affected his team’s ability to make adjustments. The art of making a quick adjustment is problem solving at its best. Because it involves everyone’s input, the style would best resemble Team Management on Blake and Mouton’s Leadership Grid.
The personal qualities that attribute to Gibbs’ success are rooted in his religious convictions, but his loyalty to colleagues and devotion to family cannot be overlooked. Looking at the old Redskin coaching staff from the first and second Gibbs eras, there were a lot of the same coaches, even though Gibbs went 12 years between jobs.
Coach Gibbs was assisted in his quest to become a successful leader with the help of some quality mentors. His best-known assistantship came with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he became a disciple of the offensive system used by head coach Don Coryell. Coryell’s system, nicknamed “Air Coryell,” was the precursor to today’s West Coast offense. Although Gibbs added a pounding running game to the system, he could adjust and alter his system to pass first, when the circumstances and personnel allowed. Gibbs was also surrounded by great by a great football team owner in Jack Kent Cooke, and a quality general manger with Bobby Beathard. Although Beathard and Gibbs often had differences in which personnel to draft or trade for, they agreed often enough to develop and maintain a strong team, one that went 140-65 over a 12-year period. In fact, during the players’ strike of 1987, the free agents drafted by the two allowed the Redskins to win all three of their games without their regular players, including a stunning upset of the Dallas Cowboys, who had seven of their players come back to the team for the game. The Redskins success during the strike was the basis for the movie “The Replacements” starring Keanu Reeves.
It is easy to determine the rewards that Gibbs has earned from his success as a leader. Three Super Bowl wins have translated into three Super Bowl rings and a lucrative coaching salary. After his first retirement, Gibbs signed on as an analyst for CBS Sports and earned five figure sums to speak to groups of businessmen. His net wealth is not known, but the cost of starting a NASCAR team is known to cost $10-15 million dollars. It is known that when Gibbs returned to the Redskins in 2002, his contract as for five years and $25 million.
Yet, like most great leaders, Gibbs had to make great sacrifices. In his case, the main sacrifice was family, but only for the first part of his career. Between July and January, Gibbs was known to sleep in his office three nights a week, and was notorious for his response to a question about Oliver North during the 1988 Iran-Contra hearings. Gibbs had no idea who Lt. Col. North was. His wife Pat had to accept the role of both parents, lugging sons J.D and Coy to football practices and other activities.
In later life Gibbs evened the score. When he formed Joe Gibbs Racing, he was determined to make it a family affair. In doing so, he made one son the president of the company, and the other took charge of the racing division. Gibbs still serves as CEO of Joe Gibbs Racing, but defers all business decisions to his sons. It was his inactivity with his own company that allowed him the time to come back and coach the Redskins for four years recently.
In 2009, Gibbs had retired from football again and decided to collaborate with his fellow leaders in football and business to brainstorm ideas on what makes for a successful life. This meeting of the minds turned into the book “Game Plan” and was published earlier this year.
