He knew when to hang it up. Not very many coaches would have done so after a four game winning streak.

Many would have stuck around just to disprove the theory that he was too old, especially after his critical time-out mistake.

Others would have stayed on the job or involved in football because their egos are just too huge to pack it in. See Parcells, Bill.

And there are coaches who we could almost guarantee would return to football in five or six years just because it feels good to be liked. See Parcells, Bill.

And oh, if the Redskins made it to the NFC championship game would we have had a lot of articles about the Redskins moniker? Or not? Has anyone ever asked Gibbs his opinion on that? He's been the face of the franchise for more than 20 years, even -- especially- after he retired (and the team sucked).

I know one thing. Jim Tressel probably came up with Chief Wahoo and the Redskins concept as well.

From CNNSI's Peter King:

"Sometimes you have to coach a team hard,'' he told me, "and sometimes a team just sort of coaches itself. This team is playing for Sean right now, and playing hard every day. I love this team because it has taken on such a mature attitude. The guys just don't want to let each other down.''

What he said about coaching itself can be true but I don't think pure emotion can be sustained for four games. What that team went through could have manifested itself any number of ways, including losing for games or splitting 2-2. From my vantage point as an armchair football coach it seems like Gibbs deserves most of the credit for that run.

I also think Gibbs is a bit underrated because when he won 3 super bowls he did not ride a completely intact team. There was continuity because of the thinking of Bobby Betheard, but the teams were different, unlike what we saw in Dallas (we all know why Switzer won that championship).

In some ways, though many may hate to hear this, Bill Bellichick resembles Gibbs in his ability to take vastly different teams and coach them to victories. He's just lucky to have stumbled on a great QB for all his wins.

By the way, it will be interesting to see how Jason Campbell fares under someone else's tutelage.

Gibbs didn't have the magic this time around and the Deadskins (the name that DCers from actual sports towns give the team) have really lived up to their name. He probably would have been better off remaining in retirement.

Even in his better days, Gibbs was a sanctimonious character whose players sucked up to him by claiming to be religious. he was no Paul Brown or even Vince Lombardi. Enough with the crocodile tears for Joe.

I saw him play as a kid for the Denver Bears and there's was nothing like spending a few bucks to go to Mile High Stadium and watch one of the fastest players . . . ever.

Makes me nostalgic for minor league baseball -- affordable, laid back, and frankly more fun than Rockies games.

(Or maybe I'm just getting old. Get off my lawn!)

against Gibbs is ridiculous. Parcells keeps coming back because he loves the game that has been his life for 40 years(seems a better explanation than yours at least, plus he's very good at it). Oh, Gibbs is staying on as a consultant, that love-needing whore who just can't give it up. Dallas is where they are b/c of Parcells, although as a coach he didn't gel with T.O. Wade Phillips walked into a great situation. I'd be willing to bet Miami will be a competitive team in a few years, which is saying a lot for that sorry franchise.

The Baseball Hall of Fame takes itself way too seriously. The BBWA writers who vote for the Hall of Fame take themselves way too seriously. Most non-BBWA writers and commentators who write about the Hall of Fame take themselves way too seriously.

It's a bunch of plaques in the middle of nowhere in Upstate New York, in a town that has as much claim to having been the birthplace of baseball as Moscow (Russia or Idaho) does. And yes, I've been there. I didn't get goosebumps.

The latest fetish is the "all stats all the time" way of analyzing Hall of Fame candidates. The first thing the statheads have to remember is that they themselves have been all over the place in analyzing statistics over the years. The same people who are now knocking Jim Rice's qualifications were writing articles extolling Jim Rice's stats when he was alive (at least those of you who were past the diaper stage them--I'm looking at you, Bill James).

The Hall of Fame won't die if Rock Raines isn't in it, the Hall of Fame won't be laughed at if Jim Rice gets in.

Putting Bowie Kuhn in (and leaving Marvin Miller out) is quite a joke, but isn't the biggest joke in Hall of Fame history either. Hall of Fame stories are mainly chopping wood during the week the football playoffs take up the rest of the oxygen in the room.

to learn that he did not gain admission to the Hall of Fame, and also that he is dead.

Raines is one of those guys who posted his HOF resume in his 20s, then stuck around so long that people forgot how amazing he had been. He morphed from Rickey Henderson-lite to Sarge Matthews-lite. It looks like he'll need to be the beneficiary of a long campaign for enshrinement.

about Gibbs as a play-caller. As the public face of the organization, he was a class act, and managed to give the Skins some dignity even when they sucked. Don't get me wrong -- I would prefer for them to win. But at least Gibbs took the sting off a bit.

He was consistent in putting the right priorities forward. A lot of coaches talk about values, but Gibbs really lives them, and spoke to those values, and acted those values, as a coach.

Even in sports, winning isn't the only thing.