Welcome Back to NASCAR, Coach Gibbs

Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs will have more time to devote to his NASCAR teams following his resignation from the football team:

WASHINGTON — Joe Gibbs resigned as coach and team president of the Washington Redskins on Tuesday, three days after his team's playoff loss concluded a season marked by the killing of safety Sean Taylor.

The Redskins said in a statement that Gibbs will remain part of the Redskins family and serve as a special adviser to owner Dan Snyder. Gibbs was to discuss his decision at a 3 p.m. news conference at Redskins Park.

The Redskins will begin a search for a new coach immediately. Among the certain candidates are two former head coaches on Gibbs' staff, Gregg Williams and Al Saunders.

Gibbs went 31-36, including 1-2 in the playoffs, after emerging from NFL retirement and his NASCAR career to sign a five-year, $27.5 million contract in 2004. He had always maintained that he intended to fulfill the contract, but the 67-year-old coach wavered from that stance Monday when asked if he would return for the final year of his deal.

Gibbs' resignation brings an apparent end to a Hall of Fame coaching career in which he twice raised the Redskins from mediocrity into a playoff team, although he failed in his goal of bringing the team back to the Super Bowl during his second stint in Washington. Gibbs won three NFL titles during his first tenure from 1981-92; the second time around he took the team to the postseason in two of his four seasons.

I'm sure the Washington fans were hoping that Gibbs could resurrect the magic and success of his earlier days with the Redskins. Coach Gibbs will be warmly welcomed back to the NASCAR garage where he's always been a popular team owner.