Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs has resigned as head coach. I heard about it this morning on the radio.

I was a bit surprised to hear this but I guess I shouldn’t have been. At least he resigned when the team had a winning season.

Joe Gibbs Resigns as Redskins Head Coach

By William Branigin, Jason LaCanfora and Howard Schneider
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 8, 2008; 5:33 PM

Joe Gibbs resigned today as coach and president of the Washington Redskins after deciding that his family needed him more and that he could not make the necessary commitment to the team.

Formally announcing a resignation that took players and coaches by surprise after an emotionally trying year, Gibbs told a news conference that he informed Redskins owner Daniel Snyder of his decision in a late-night meeting that lasted until about 2:30 this morning.

Snyder tried to persuade Gibbs to stay on and even discussed extending his contract in Gibbs’s second stint as coach of the Redskins, both sides said, but the Hall of Fame coach insisted that he needed to be closer to his family in North Carolina.

“I told him I just did not feel like I could make the kind of commitment I needed to make going forward this year, knowing what my family situation was,” Gibbs said. “They needed me.” He said of Snyder, “I don’t think he necessarily agreed with me . . . but he understood.”

Gibbs said he plans to continue spending a good part of his time in the Washington area and would do anything he could to help Snyder achieve his goal of adding to the Redskins’ three Superbowl championships, the last of which came after the 1991 season when Gibbs was in his first tenure as head coach. But Gibbs said he would not have an official position with the team or “oversee” anything.

Family is very important to Gibbs and it’s good that he will be able to spend more time with them.

I will miss seeing him on the sidelines. I know alot of fans were expecting him to bring back the magic that the team had back during the 80’s and early 90’s when the Redskins were winning Super Bowls. But we don’t have the Hogs or the Fun Bunch anymore. It’s a whole different team and the players today are totally different from the players from the 80’s and 90’s. This Hall of Fame coach has always been a class act and I wish him and his family the best.