Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 10, 1993 TAG: 9301100010
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CHANGING OF THE GUARD FOR REDSKINS
In Washington, the days are dwindling on more than a decade of power.No, not the Republicans. The Redskins.
Generations pass. Well, sometimes they run, too. In the NFL, you can't be successful at one without the other.
The Redskins won three Super Bowls in 10 years, and while coach Joe Gibbs isn't riding off into the sunset in his NASCAR Lumina, the face of the franchise is about to change.
Offensively, the "Hogs" are just about history. Defensively, coordinator Richie Petitbon figures to be the next Papa Bear in Chicago. Petitbon has been Washington's secretary of defense three years longer than Gibbs has been in charge of the capital's football ideas.
The NFL's dominant championship teams are built on a core of veterans who provide a decade of leadership. For reference, see the Green Bay Packers of the '60s and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the '70s. The San Francisco 49ers' run started a few years before the Redskins' success.
If Washington is to keep winning - and the Redskins have experienced only one losing year among Gibbs' dozen - the mantle will be draped over different shoulder pads. The guidance provided by Joe Jacoby, Jeff Bostic, Don Warren, Art Monk and Monte Coleman will become part of the job descriptions of Darrell Green, Jim Lachey, Mark Schlereth, Earnest Byner and Mark Rypien.
The five graybeards listed above have played a combined 66 NFL seasons. It is likely each has no more than one year left. In that 1993 season, their presence won't be felt as it once was.
Bostic, Jacoby, Warren, Russ Grimm, Mark May and George Starke were the original Hogs. Starke retired in '84. May made a Plan B move to San Diego in 1990 and since left for Phoenix. Grimm moved to Gibbs' staff a year ago. Warren, the injured tight end, should make the next exit.
His game is strength, and Warren has struggled with a pinched nerve in his neck that weakened a shoulder. The Redskins may be hoping Warren gracefully retires, and if he tries to return, his presence in training camp will make a very emotional cut for Gibbs, Warren's fellow San Diego State alumnus.
Bostic tore a rotator cuff in his right arm in Week 4. His work at center hadn't slipped. Raleigh McKenzie has moved from guard and played as well as Bostic might have, but the Redskins seem to think they have a better line with McKenzie and Schlereth flanking Bostic.
Jacoby's work at tackle and guard hasn't suffered, although he has been hurt repeatedly this season. The 12-year lineman probably doesn't have 16 games left in his body, but he has one year left on his contract. He figures to play that in relief.
When most people talk of the Redskins' potential retirees, Coleman isn't mentioned. Bill Clinton may replace Coleman as the most visible Arkansan in Washington, but in nickel situations, the bearded linebacker is worth every penny he's paid.
The future of the Redskins' other familiar graybeard, backup quarterback Jeff Rutledge, will be based not so much on age as necessity. Can Gibbs afford to keep Rutledge - a Plan B signee from the Giants three years ago - just to hold for kicks?
Monk's situation is reflected as much in a new age for the league as the Redskins' passing era. Monk's contract is up just as it seems the NFL's career receiving leader no longer is a go-to guy. The dawn of restricted free agency in the NFL and the desire of Washington to get its money's worth from top draft pick Desmond Howard could have an impact on Monk's future.
The 'Skins have more free agents than any other NFL club. While the loss of Petitbon to the Bears would be as ample as his stomach, keeping starters Monk, Gary Clark, Wilber Marshall, Charles Mann, Kurt Gouveia, Brad Edwards, Danny Copeland, Martin Mayhew, Tim Johnson, Ron Middleton, Ray Brown, Fred Stokes, Eric Williams and Kelly Goodburn would require millions of owner Jack Kent Cooke's fortune.
You can see the end from here, and although this is no obituary, it might be a good time for Redskins' rooters to reflect and appreciate the time that's passing. After all, before Gibbs' first title in 1982, it had been 40 years since Sammy Baugh had passed Washington to its last NFL championship.
In the next few years, the stadium won't be the only thing new about the Redskins.
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