CALDWELL: Jim Caldwell is the Assistant Head Coach-Quarterbacks Coach of the Colts. He is being considered for the head coaching positions in Baltimore and Atlanta. He is also the heir apparent to Tony Dungy in Indianapolis, and with Tony Dungy unsure about his future in the NFL, it should be interesting to see where Caldwell ends up. Caldwell is very much a Tony Dungy pupil. He is calm and stoic. He’s not an in-your-face kind of coach. It should be enough for Caldwell simply to type in big letters, “PEYTON MANNING”, on his resume. After all, Caldwell’s career in the NFL so far has been spent teaching Peyton Manning.

MEEKS: Ron Meeks has been the Defensive Coordinator of the Colts for six years, including ’07. He entered the NFL ranks as a defensive assistant for the Dallas Cowboys in ’91. He was then a defensive backs coach for the Bengals from ’92-’96. He then served the same capacity for Falcons from ’97-’99. He then came to Washington to serve as the Redskins defensive backs coach before moving to St. Louis in ’01. Meeks has been a part of two Super Bowl winning clubs: the Falcons in ’98 and the Rams in ’01. Meeks has been credited with developing Pro Bowl selections Ray Buchanan, Eugene Robinson, Darrell Green, Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey, Mark Carrier, Ashley Ambrose, Aeneas Williams, and Bob Sanders, among others.

GRIMM: There’s a rumor going around that Grimm interviewed with Snyder on Friday. I’m not ready to confirm that right now. After a career full of Pro Bowl and All Pro selections as a guard for the Redskins, Grimm entered the coaching ranks as the tight ends coach for the Redskins. He held that post from ’92 to ’96, before becoming the team’s offensive line coach, where he was credited with developing Pro Bowlers Chris Samuels and Jon Jansen. He then moved to Pittsburgh to become the Steelers’ offensive line coach. In ’04, he was promoted to Assistant Head Coach-Offensive Line. Following the retirement of Bill Cowher, Grimm followed fellow Steelers’ coach Ken Wisenhunt to Arizona, where he currently serves the same capacity as he had in his final years in Pittsburgh. If the aforementioned rumor does turn out to be true, I would say that Grimm has payed his dues and has earned an NFL head coaching gig.

Now, just because he interviewed does not make him the frontrunner. That continues to be Gregg Williams. But I have to remind you that this is Dan Snyder. You never know with him. At no point is there ever a true frontrunner.

Alright. I’m going to watch the finish to this JAX-NE game.

If you haven’t already heard, Joe Gibbs retired. That renders the Redskins head coach-less. This is a big time for the franchise. This could be a turning point. In fact, I’m pretty sure it will be a turning point. For better or for worse. If the Skins hire from within, the change will not be as drastic. That could be good. That could be bad. Maybe the Skins need drastic changes. Their best season in the last decade was 2005 when they had to win their last 5 games to make the playoffs as a wild-card team, then beat the Buccaneers to advance to the divisional round, where they finally fell to the Seahawks. The Skins desperately need to get to the NFC Championship Game in the coming years if they’re going to stick with the current plan. If said plan continues to not produce results, the Skins should be prepared for a slimmer fan base. Now, if they decide to go with an outside hire, fans will have to give the new system some time.

Alright, let’s take a look at what the Redskins need. Joe Gibbs was more of just a figure than anything else. He wasn’t calling plays. Now, he did have a say in personnel moves, but all moves eventually had to be OK’d by Snyder. He was a terrific motivator, although you wouldn’t have said that before the death of Sean Taylor because of all of the second-half collapses. He played a key role in the late-season winning streak. That is what separates him from all other NFL head coaches. That is why he is a hall of famer. Because of what he did after the death of Sean Taylor.

Gregg Williams was calling plays for the defense (Assistant Head Coach- Defense). Al Saunders was calling plays for the offense (Associate Head Coach- Offense). The current defensive coordinator is Greg Blache. The offensive coordinator is Don Breaux. The Skins current coaching staff is pretty crowded. If Gregg Williams succeeds Gibbs as head coach, you wouldn’t think there would be as many changes as there would be with an outside hire. But anyway, back to the Skins needs. The team’s defense bounced back from a disappointing ’06 to put up a pretty impressive ’07 campaign. The team’s offense this year also was much better than it was last year. If I had to pinpoint a major weakness for the Skins, I would say the inability to put games away.

Now, there’s no coach in the NFL or college who specializes in putting games away, except, of course, for Bill Belichick. So basically, the Skins could go either way- offense or defense- with the new head coach. If the new coach does come from outside the organization, it would be safe to say that either Williams or Saunders would depart before next year. I expect the new coach to be the leader of the offense or the defense. I think it would be less of a hit for the Skins to have Saunders step away rather than Williams. (Of course, the new head coach should have control over his staff) So I think the Skins should go with an offensive mind. (But honestly, I wouldn’t be too upset if they hired a defensive guy)

Alright, let’s look at the candidates: Gregg Williams, Al Saunders, Jim Schwartz, Jim Caldwell, Ron Meeks, and Russ Grimm. That’s about all I can think of. Of course, you could add Bill Cowher, Brian Billick, Jason Garrett, or Rex Ryan, but I think the first list is more realistic. The Skins interviewed Schwartz earlier this week and afterwards, somebody from his base said that he came away thinking Williams would get the job. I have no idea what that means. Did Snyder tell him at the end of the interview that he was going with Williams?

Alright. My hands are getting tired. I’ll post sometime soon about the possibilities of Caldwell, Meeks and Grimm, as well as any news pertaining to the Skins head coaching vacancy.