Washington Redskins Information
Before the Washington Redskins made Washington D.C. their home in 1937, the franchise then known as the Boston Braves, played their home games in Boston from 1932-1936 including four seasons at Fenway Park.
A key ingredient to much of the Redskins previous success came from former head coach Joe Gibbs. Gibbs became the 20th head coach in Redskins history in 1981 and went on to lead the Skins to all three of their Super Bowl titles before retiring in 1993. This, however, would not be the end of Joe Gibbs and the Washington Redskins partnership. Gibbs was lured out of retirement in 2004 by new owner, Dan Snyder. His first season back was a bit of a letdown as the team finished with a losing record of 6-10, but Gibbs and the Redskins turned it around for the 2005 season. They finished with a 10-6 record and secured a wild card berth in the Playoffs. Gibbs announced on Jan. 8, 2008 that he was resigning as head coach, opting out of the remainder of his 5-year $28.5 million dollar contract that he had agreed to when he came out of retirement in 2004. He will be staying on with the team as a special advisor to the owner.
The Redskins replaced Gibbs with Jim Zorn before the start of the 2008 season. Zorn led the Skins to a 6-2 start but really struggled towards the end of the season. Washington finished up with an 8-8 record and failed to make the playoffs. After a dismal 4-12 campaign in 2009, the Redskins replaced Zorn with 3x Super Bowl champion coach Mike Shanahan. Washington then acquired pro bowl QB Donovan McNabb from their division rival Philadelphia Eagles. In 2010, they finished at 6-10 and in last place.
In 2011, the Redskins finished at a worsened 5-11 season. For the 2012 season, they will look to improve and try to make it into the playoffs.
