AP Newsbreak: Joe Gibbs resigns as coach of Washington Redskins

WASHINGTON (AP) -Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs resigned as coach and team president of the Washington Redskins on Tuesday, the Associated Press has learned.A person familiar with Gibbs' decision, speaking on condition of anonymity because the

WASHINGTON (AP) -Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs resigned as coach and team president of the Washington Redskins on Tuesday, the Associated Press has learned.

The official said the Redskins would begin a search for a new coach immediately. Among the certain candidates are two former head coaches on Gibbs' staff, Gregg Williams and Al Saunders.

Gibbs went 31-36, including 1-2 in the playoffs, after emerging from NFL retirement and his NASCAR career to sign a five-year, $27.5 million contract in 2004. He had always maintained that he intended to fulfill the contract, but the 67-year-old coach wavered from that stance Monday when asked if he would return for the final year of his deal.

Gibbs' resignation brings an apparent end to a Hall of Fame career in which he twice raised the Redskins from mediocrity into a playoff team, although he failed in his goal of bringing the team back to the Super Bowl during his second stint in Washington. Gibbs won three NFL titles during his first tenure from 1981-92; the second time around he took the team to the postseason in two of his four seasons.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.