Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell is normally the last man on the scene when you need a "throw the bum out" piece. He's a man of nuance who believes in the eternal power of the obscure metaphor and a tweed sport coat.
That's why I was a little surprised when Boswell suggested that the end was near for legendary Redskins coach Joe Gibbs. Following Washington's 33-25 loss to the Eagles, Boswell wrote:
"It's time to treat Gibbs just like anyone else in sports who must reprove himself constantly. Coming just two weeks after a 52-7 loss to New England, this defeat to a mundane Philadelphia Eagles team was a brutal demonstration of how far the Redskins still have to go to be a genuine contender, even after all of Gibbs's no-expense-spared rebuilding with a roster of mostly hand-picked players."
Boswell came close to calling for Gibbs' firing, but then returned to safer ground when he decided he might not have much company. The truth is that Redskins fans are starting to accept the terrible reality that their Hall of Fame coach might be at the end of the line.
And the worst part is that Gibbs' questionable decisions during crunch time suggest that he's a larger part of the problem than a lot of us would care to admit. He's being betrayed by the same run-first, pass much, much later offense that helped put him in the Hall of Fame.
His young quarterback, Jason Campbell, may turn into a fine quarterback someday, but right now he doesn't have a wide receiver he can trust, forcing him to rely heavily on tight end Chris Cooley.
The Redskins are facing a Dallas defense Sunday that specializes in stopping the run, so Campbell will have to throw the ball downfield at some point. If the Redskins lose to their hated rivals and fall to 5-5, Boswell have plenty of company.
As esteemed blogger Dan Steinberg points out, there's already a Fire Joe Gibbs Now Web site. And by the way, would someone at the Post please realize Steinberg's genius and stop making him write post-game sidebars on the Redskins' problems in the red zone.
