STEVE INSKEEP, host:
The presidential election may be a big national story but it has to compete with another big story in the nation's capital. Washington residents love their football team. You may not realize just how much they love it until you walk the streets some warm fall afternoon and you hear the sound of the Redskins Broadcast coming out of window after window. Now, the city is absorbing the news that Coach Joe Gibbs is retiring.
Mr. JOE GIBBS (Former Head Coach, Washington Redskins): I loved it. I think it's one of the all-time great opportunities in the world, is to be the coach of the Washington Redskins. The greatest sports franchise in the world. The greatest fans in the world and a place where football is really, really important.
INSKEEP: Joe Gibbs coached the Redskins twice. The first time around, he won three Super Bowls. Gibbs' second time was tougher. This past season, star player Sean Taylor was shot and killed in midseason. The team recovered to make the playoffs. And players said their coach was a strong leader for the football family during a difficult time. Joe Gibbs says it's time to pay attention to his own family now. His three-year-old grandson has been diagnosed with leukemia.
Mr. GIBBS: This job and the only way I know to do it is you're going after it night and day. And I think the thrill of it is just that - it's how hard it is. My family situation being what it is right now, I just - I did not feel like I could make the kind of commitment that I need to make going forward this year. I felt like that they needed me.
INSKEEP: A local television station played Gibbs' comments, as football highlights played in the background, and there were many highlights to show. Though he faced criticism this season, the Redskins in recent decades won more often with Joe Gibbs than without him.