Terry Robiskie (Rich Lipski-The Post)

Terry Robiskie, the Redskins' interim head coach, in his final discussion of the season, reflected on the past year and looked ahead to the team's future.

Robiskie joined the Redskins as wide receivers coach in 1994 after spending 12 years as a coach with the Raiders. A running back out of LSU, he was drafted by Oakland in 1977 and played for five seasons, three for the Raiders and two for the Dolphins.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

washingtonpost.com: Welcome back to Airing It Out and thanks to Terry for joining us. Let's get right to it.

Woodbridge, VA: Terry,
Congratulations on the win this past Sunday. You deserved it.
I fully agree with the comments you have made recently about improving the team via draft and not free agents. That being said, what position players would you look to pick up in the upcoming draft? More depth at WR? Special teams players that can cut loose (while maintaining coverage lane-discipline) and knock the returner into next week? A kicker?
Thanks for your time and consideration. I really hope Mr. Snyder wakes up and smells the coffee. His head coach search should begin and end with you.

Terry Robiskie: Thanks a lot for all the support. Of course, today I need it. To answer your question, going into the draft we'd love to find as many good players as possible. Of course, you'd like to have depth at every position. Like you said, we'll need some receivers and a lot of special team help. Hopefully, we can have a few draft picks and find the guys we need.

Alexandria, VA: Coach, I'm rooting for you, but I'm wondering: Have you and Dan Snyder had any conversations lately about your future? If not, what do y'all talk about lately?

Terry Robiskie: No, we have not had any discussions about my future. We are simply talking about the football team and where the team is headed. We had one or two discussions about what he's looking for in a head coach, but it wasn't a discussion about my future. Like I said, just football stuff.

London, Ontario, Canada: Do you feel the Redskins' performance under your three game tenure helped or hindered your quest to be the Redskins' head coach?

Thanks for your time, Terry. Your candor is and always was appreciated.

Terry Robiskie: Well, I hope it helped. Maybe some people think it hurt, but I'm not one of those. I think it gave me the opportunity to prove what I could do. So I hope it was a plus and not a minus.

Chesapeake, VA: If you are kept on as head coach and I hope you are, would the injury history for Westbrook and Tre Johnson be a major factor in any decision to keep them?

Terry Robiskie: Well, I'm sure we will sit and discuss those, but it shouldn't be the sole purpose on which our decisions are made. Of course, when we make the final decision, we've got to take that into consideration. But again, we won't let that be the deciding factor.

Herndon, VA: Hello, Mr. Robiskie,
Should you remain as head coach, what are your plans with obtaining an offensive coordinator? Anybody on the "list"?

Terry Robiskie: If I am the head coach I will quickly begin the search to hire someone as coordinator. Yes, I do have a list, a short list, but I'll get it done quickly. I can't tell you who because that's against the rules. You'll just have to wait and see.

Rockville, MD: Coach, the Sports Illustrated Web site had a blurb indicating that Jeff George is "undermining" some of the coaches and players on the Redskins by saying things - not necessarily true - to Mr. Snyder. Your reaction?

Terry Robiskie: I have no reaction to it, as I'm not sure if it's fact or fiction. I'm not sure if there's any truth to it. I hope it isn't true and I don't think it is. But I guess, you never know. Until I know all the facts, I shouldn't comment.

Largo, Maryland: Why is Brad Johnson being let go? In my opinion he has proven that barring injury, he is the better quarterback.

Terry Robiskie: Well, I'm not sure if he is totally out of the picture. Brad might still be around. But if he's not, it will be strictly because of salary cap. You can only have so many guys making so much money. Yes, Brad's an outstanding football player.

Springfield, VA: Do you agree with Jack Lambert when he said "give me 22 players with heart and I'll beat 22 players with talent?"

Terry Robiskie: Yes, I agree. I agree 100 percent. I think that regardless of a guy's talent, you've got to have heart. And like Jack, I think heart wins over talent quite often.

Columbia, MD: It's obvious that you have been more willing to use Champ Bailey on offense than Norv was. If you are the head coach next year (which I'm hoping for), what offensive and defensive roles do you exactly see Champ having?

Terry Robiskie: Well, if I get to call the shots, being an offensive coach I'd love to see him be a receiver about 100 percent of the time. Champ is an incredible talent, a phenomenal football player and he's extremely dangerous anytime he touches the ball. I would love to see him on the offensive side of the ball.

Bethesda, MD: Hey, Terry. First of all, you handled an impossible situation with a lot of dignity and class. Good job on that. Hopefully, Snyder will realize that and reward you by taking the interim off your title.
I have two questions for you. First, what do you think was the biggest factor in the disappointing season? Would you agree with me if I said that it's a combination of injuries (Tre Johnson, Cory Raymer, Brett Conway, Michael Westbrook, etc.) and an inability to find a kicker to replace Conway?
Second, what do you think the team needs to address in the offseason?
Thanks for sticking around and good luck!

Terry Robiskie: Well, I do agree with you that injuries were the number one factor. I don't want to say that it was our inability to find a kicker to replace Brett, but I will say that we were about four kicks away from being 10-6 or 11-5. I think in this year's draft there's a lot of things we've got to get handled. A lot of positions we'll need help at. But that's why we have the draft, to handle those things. So I'm sure we will.

Rockville, MD: Do you think that the more elderly 'Skins ran out of gas at the end of the season due to the tough early schedule?

Terry Robiskie: I'm not sure if we ran out of gas or if we got banged-up at the end. I think some of the older guys like Darrell Green, Bruce Smith, and maybe Larry Centers played pretty good the last game here against Arizona. They didn't appear to be out of gas. I'm not sure if we ran out or not.

Rockville, Maryland: Hi Terry. You were put in to an almost no win situation, and handled it with grace. My question is, would you be willing to stay with Redskins in a capacity other than head coach if asked to?

Terry Robiskie: Well, it depends on the capacity. That would be something to consider. To answer your question, yes, I would strongly consider it.

Rockville, MD: What is your opinion on Mark Carrier? Is the league specifically targeting him for illegal hits? If so, how can he be an effective safety if he is playing scared?

Terry Robiskie: Yes, I think Mark Carrier has gotten himself in a jam. I think every time he touches someone, they will throw a flag on him. He's a marked man. It's unfortunate, but a fact.

Rockville: Is Deion healthy or has he just lost a few steps?

Terry Robiskie: I think it's a combination of the two. I think he's hurt. His leg's been hurting him since the Dallas game, and he's beat-up and sore like everybody else. But again, like most of us, he's getting older. I guess he's lost a step, but he's still pretty fast.

San Francisco, CA: Football teams have personalities just like players. What type of personality would you want the team to have under your leadership?

Terry Robiskie: That's tough to say online. I guess the easiest thing to say is that I would want them to have a killer instinct. A killer mentality. Not just going out and winning, but going out and dominating.

Manhattan Beach, California: Terry --
You played for two great coaches -- Don Shula and John Madden. How do you think both men would fare in today's NFL? Also, what did you learn from those two with respect to being a football coach?

Terry Robiskie: I think both coaches would do exactly what they did: Today they would dominate about 90 percent of the coaches they coached against. I guess the one thing I took from both guys was physical and tough: Play physical and be tough.

Birmingham, Alabama: If you had been the coach from day one of this season what would you have done differently? Not to take away from Coach Turner but what do you see in hindsight that should have been taken care of?

Terry Robiskie: To talk today about what I would have done differently, like you said, is hindsight. I assume there would have been a lot of things I would have done differently because I am different. I am me, and Coach Turner is Coach Turner. But again, to say exactly what I would have done differently, that's tough to pinpoint. If you can make it so that I am here next year, then I'll show you the things I would do differently. Let's see if you can handle that little job.

Jackson, Mississippi: Hi Terry! I'm a huge Redskin fan displaced in the Deep South ... What are your thoughts on which teams have the edge in this week's NFL playoffs?
P.S. You deserve the job

Terry Robiskie: Well, it's hard to say who's got the edge. Let's try: I would say Indy over Miami, because they won there a few weeks ago. Indy will remember that, and so will Miami. Philly has an advantage over Tampa because of home field and the weather. Denver has an advantage over the Ravens just because of the playoff experience. Denver's been there. And the Rams have an advantage over New Orleans for the same reason: The Rams have been there, too.

Washington, DC: With all that's been said about the 'Skins and Dan Snyder of late, salary cap issues, new coaches, new players, injuries, etc.- how can the 'Skins attract top talent at all ranks (players and coaches) and climb back on top of the NFC east?

Terry Robiskie: That's a tough battle, like you said, trying to attract top-name people. As for the players, there isn't a lot of room financially for top-name players. So I'm not sure we have to worry about attracting them. As for the coaches, I think we have a pretty good staff, and we simply should add one guy here or there. I think we'll be okay with the group we have working here if we get a few more pieces for the puzzle.

London, Ontario: Thank you once again for speaking to all of us fans online, Terry. You always speak your mind and give us fans a little bit of a 'closer taste' of the NFL.
If you could take one player from any team in the NFL to play on your team, who would it be?

Terry Robiskie: Randy Moss.

Woodbridge,VA: Did you get back home to Louisiana for Christmas?

Terry Robiskie: No, I was too busy here celebrating a win and I always enjoy having Christmas in places where it's a white Christmas. We don't have any snow in Louisiana so I didn't want to go there. We stayed at home, lit the fireplace, opened the presents, read all the news clippings from the game and drank egg nog. We had a great time and enjoyed the day. I hope you did, too.

Hey, this is my last question for the 2000 season. As always, I've had a tremendous amount of fun. It's been a wonderful experience. It's been a terrific relationship between myself, the fans, and of course washingtonpost.com. If everything works out the way I hope, then maybe next year we will continue this courtship. But if it doesn't, I want everyone and anyone who has ever signed on to our sessions to know I appreciate all the questions, all the cheers and of course all the support. Thanks to you guys, the fans, and of course thanks to washingtonpost.com. Happy holidays, and please continue to support the Redskins.

I love all of you,
Terry Robiskie

washingtonpost.com: Many thanks to Terry Robiskie for his time and effort throughout a trying season. Despite the dramatic changes in his life during the past month, he continued to host his show, and we're grateful to him for that. Events will dictate the future of Airing It Out; nonetheless Terry has graciously agreed to be back with us soon.