Extending Himself

At his season wrap-up news conference, Gibbs declined to repeat the code words for, "There's no Gibbs-contract story here today, folks. Go home and have dinner with your families."

Oh, he was asked, practically begged, to say them. What a horrifying sight. Pleeeease, Joe, the sun is setting and our kids haven't seen us in a month. Say the six words we taught you and release us to the temporary custody of our loved ones.

Instead, Gibbs said, "That's been my answer the whole way." But not anymore.

With that, the feeding frenzy began. As soon as Gibbs acknowledged that he and Snyder needed to talk about his status, that meant only one thing: Gibbs wanted to discuss an extension. After all, if he wanted to retire, nothing could stop him. If he just wanted to coach one more season, then he already had that contract in his pocket.

Perhaps it is a measure of Gibbs's almost mythical stature in Washington that, within minutes of his news conference, players were calling reporters asking: "What was that all about? What did he mean?" Where were those six words that calm all fears?

Redskins Nation should relax. The main point of Gibbs's postseason summation was his delight -- cautiously expressed, of course -- that the Washington franchise is headed in the right direction again.

"After last season, going 5-11, we tried to analyze everything. We felt like we let some stuff get away from us. We made some mistakes. It was mostly my fault. I made some personnel decisions that really hurt us. That's well documented," said Gibbs, no doubt recalling free agents Brandon Lloyd and Adam Archuleta. "We needed to figure out how it happened and how to keep it from happening again. . . . We crafted a good plan, signing London [Fletcher], getting Fred Smoot back."

Part of that plan involved Snyder spending far more than most owners to make sure the team had depth in case of injuries, including offensive linemen Todd Wade and Jason Fabini as well as both Mark Brunell and Collins at quarterback.

Now, the future looks entirely different to Gibbs. And it's a future in which he sees himself at the center.

"This year is totally different. I'm always cautious, but if you look at the players we lost to injury and you put that group back healthy [next season], it's a much different feeling" about the future, Gibbs said. "Two of the last three years we've made the playoffs. . . . I'm hoping last year was an aberration and the two years we made the playoffs are what we're getting back to: consistently winning football games. But we want to win more of them than we did this year."

A month ago, Gibbs's coaching career was at its lowest point after his double-timeout gaffe contributed to a 17-16 loss to Buffalo that dropped the Redskins to 5-7. The next day, the team arrived at Taylor's funeral with almost invisibly small hopes of making the playoffs and Gibbs's record in his second term as Redskins coach was a dismal 26-34.

No wonder Gibbs and Snyder delayed any conversation about his place in the Redskins' future. Would he, or should he, return if the decimated team finished 5-11 again? Instead, four games that might have been lost under many coaches were somehow won under Gibbs. His aura, his national reputation, was burnished bright once more.

Now, he wants a contract extension so he can preside over the final stage of leading the Redskins back to being as a perennial NFL power. That's why he came back to town. Now, he can taste it. The only thing he can't do is come out and say it. Everybody has to play by the negotiating rules, even Gibbs.

So, it's Snyder's turn. He's opened his checkbook to everybody else on earth. He won't slam it shut on Joe Gibbs.