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The Big Twenty
2019 marked the end of what’s been a spectacular, tragic, exciting and controversial two decades in the region.
At NBC Sports Washington, we gathered a panel of sportswriters, former athletes and other experts to look back on the region’s biggest sports stories with our The Big Twenty project. Agree? Disagree? Want to share your story? We’re on Twitter at @NBCSWashington.
The List
We are excited to reveal story number five in our countdown – Joe Gibbs returns as head coach of the Redskins. Check back every weekday through February 13th as we reveal where each story ranks.
The world of entertainment today is littered with too many sequels, most of which feel unnecessary. But back in 2004, the Washington area’s dream sequel became reality. Joe Gibbs 2.0.
Coming off of a disastrous Steve Spurrier-led 5-11 season in 2003, Dan Snyder knew the Redskins needed a serious reboot. So, he made a push for the franchise’s most revered figure, a man that would immediately rejuvenate an organization and a region and send shock waves throughout the entire sport.
After retiring in 1993, Gibbs was approached multiple times by owners who had hoped they could convince him to return to the NFL. However, the legend was content spending his time in NASCAR and bonding with the family he had missed so much during his first go-round with Washington. After all, what more was there for him to do?
Eventually, though, the desire to coach again became too much to ignore — as it tends to do with football lifers like Gibbs — right at a time the team he had captured three Super Bowls with needed an established leader. Snyder made his pitch and, finally, got his guy.
Organization rejuvenated. Region rejuvenated. Shock waves sent.
A Hall of Famer was coming home.
WATCH AND READ MORE AT NBCSPORTSWASHINGTON.COM/THEBIGTWENTY
