Some were surprised that Ron Rivera, one of the most highly sought-after coaches on the market this offseason, was so quick to accept what is regarded as a mediocre Washington Redskins job. That may have been down to some sales work by Joe Gibbs.
Gibbs won three Super Bowls as coach of the Redskins, and remains a steady advocate for the organization despite their current reputation in NFL circles. He spoke to Rivera before the new coach took the job, and Gibbs had a passionate sales pitch as part of that conversation.
“It’s the most powerful city in the world, and that football team means the world to that town,” Gibbs said he told Rivera, via Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post. “It’s one of the very few things that brings everybody together. There’s no Democrat, Republican. It’s everybody for 3½ hours is going to cheer for that football team. …
“That fan base is battle-tested. Most of them have been there forever in that stadium. And I said, ‘There’s nothing like it. They’re going to cheer like heck if you get it going. And they’ll let you know if you do bad stuff, too.'”
The Washington job is thought of as an unpopular one, in large part due to an owner that the fans are fed up with. Rivera was eager to take the job, though, perhaps because of the recruiting job Gibbs was able to do. It certainly doesn’t look like a bad one.
