Alex Gibbs

by Coltrane

Recently hired offensive line coach Alex Gibbs has left the Seahawks.

I had originally started to write about Alex Gibbs on January 15 — according to the “Properties” of the piece I’ve been messing with for a while.   That’s eight months ago.  Evidently I think it’s more interesting now that he’s gone.

From Greg Johns, SeattlePi.com:

Of all the offseason hires by Pete Carroll, the biggest and most ballyhooed was the addition of offensive line coach Alex Gibbs to his Seahawks coaching staff.

Gibbs, 69, was heralded as the guru of zone blocking and one of the most-respected assistants in the NFL.

He was the guy who could take late-round draft picks of marginal talent and mold them into a lean, mean fighting machine that would mow down opposing defensive lines with their cut-blocking skills and open up creases to revive Seattle’s ground game.

He was the man excited about the potential of first-round draft pick Russell Okung, the fellow whose familiarity with veteran guard Ben Hamilton made him a perfect fit, the perfectionist who was cussing and yelling and setting a tough tone for Seattle’s rebuilding line at every practice…

Here’s a couple of excerpts from what I’d written:

One of the coaches joining Pete Carroll in Seattle is Joe Gibbs’ kid, Alex Gibbs. Alex’s recent history includes coaching the offensive line in Denver from 1995-2003. In 2004 Gibbs went to Atlanta, staying on as a consultant from 2005-2006. Finally, in 2008-2009 he served as the offensive line coach with Houston. His resume also includes stops in Kansas City, Indianapolis, San Diego, and with the Los Angeles Raiders. His teams are usually among the league leaders in rushing yards…

[Insert Really Cool Chart That Requires A Bunch Of Work That Somehow Never Got Finished Here]

…besides producing 1,000 yard rushers, the teams in Denver were famous for something else — the offensive linemen would consistently take cracks at the knees of the opposing defensive line. Each week the defensive linemen would say: “Yeah, no. I think I’ll take the week off and protect my knees and career.” The Denver running backs would use that opportunity to run wild. Remember when Magic had 42 points in the All-Star game because nobody wanted to get within 20 feet of him? Yeah, that.

Personally I think that strategy is pretty distasteful. I’d guess if the Seahawks win the fans will look the other way. Do the ends justify the means?

The Greg Johns piece goes into some detail as to the whys and wherefores of Alex Gibbs’ departure. It’s a good piece, and well worth reading for Seahawks fans.

I think it fundamentally comes down to just a few things:

1.  Gibbs prefers small, agile linemen.  Pete Carroll is building a “big” team.  It’s a post for another day, but I’ll bet this years Seahawks as a group are on average at least 1/2″ taller than last year, and at least 5 pounds heavier.

2.  The Seahawks offensive line is in a shambles, and Gibbs doesn’t want his good name associated with it.  (Pure speculation, but entirely reasonable.)

3.  Gibbs is too old for this stuff.  The man is 69 years old.

I remember seeing a comedian a number of years ago who said: “Ronald Reagan is 77 years old and he has access to ‘The Button.’ —  My grandfather is 77 and we don’t let him touch the remote control.”

I guess that’s an old joke now.  If Reagan were alive he’d be 99, and he’s been dead for six years.  (Sad thing is, I had to go to wikipedia to confirm he’s actually deceased.  He basically went into hiding near the end of his life.)

Further Aside:  For those of you too young to remember the Cold War — “The Button” would launch America’s nuclear warheads at the Russians.  Just so we’re clear.  Watch the movie “WarGames” sometime.  In real life Reagan was basically the WOPR computer, minus the scary blinking lights.  (And no, the computer wasn’t a reanimated hamburger, though that would be scary.)

Back onto topic.  I’ll be very interested to see how the offensive line shapes up this year.  I’m going to be especially interested to see if the Seahawks employ the cut-blocking tactics described above.

My hope is that the Seahawks elect to knock people on their butts the old-fashioned way, by using the larger athletes to shove the opposition around.