Joe Gibbs shares epic tales while reflecting on Super Bowl XXVI win originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
During a 20-minute Wednesday interview on 106.7 The Fan’s BMitch & Finlay show — one that could’ve gone for 2,000 minutes without complaint — Joe Gibbs shared a handful of outstanding stories about Washington’s last Super Bowl-winning squad.
Gibbs’ appearance came on the 30th anniversary of the franchise’s Super Bowl XXVI victory, a win that capped off one of the more dominant seasons in NFL, and sports, history. Gibbs sure made it sound like an incredibly fun campaign, too.
Take the time that Gibbs once stepped into an offensive huddle and picked up on a smell he wasn’t expecting.
“Man, I got a whiff,” Gibbs told hosts Brian Mitchell (who was a part of the famous depth chart) and JP Finlay. “And it was — you could tell — it was beer. It was a beer whiff.”
The coach then removed himself from the huddle and met with offensive line coach Joe Bugel, remarking that if the players were going to imbibe before taking the field, they better be ready to perform.
“He grabbed all those guys, he threatened all of them and it was one of the best practices we ever had,” Gibbs said. “Crazy things like that happened.”
As rowdy as the roster was, Gibbs was able to command everyone’s respect due to his unmatched preparation, something he instilled throughout the organization. There was his belief, for example, that Washington should always practice outdoors, no matter the elements.
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In fact, he maintained that stance in his second go-round with the team in the mid-2000s, even when owner Dan Snyder offered to build an indoor facility.
“I really did believe that being outside, being outside in all kinds of weather and practicing outside in it, I really do believe it conditioned you to play well, particularly late,” Gibbs said.
Despite the hard-nosed approach, there were occasions where Gibbs had to muster up fake enthusiasm for freezing get-togethers.
“I used to go out there and fake it all the time,” the Hall of Famer admitted.
At one point in the interview, Mitchell asked his former boss about Washington’s pre-Super Bowl XXVI accommodations. Since that stay in a remote location away from downtown Minnesota, Mitchell has been perplexed about the choice to reside in such a quiet spot.
Gibbs seemed to really enjoy reliving that memory.
“I started hearing you guys going, ‘Where are we going? What’s the deal?’” Gibbs said. “I had our travel group pick that place and I just said, ‘Make sure it’s away from everything.’ And believe me, it was.”
Even after three decades, the accomplishments of that particular outfit clearly mean a lot to Gibbs, who captured two other titles with Washington. To him, rising to the top of the NFL means much more than hoisting a trophy in February.
“In the end, to get a chance to have an experience like that and win a Super Bowl, it’s one of the greatest things that man can create.”
