With a 6-10 season wrapped, and the playoffs underway with only the New York Jets representing the hopes and dreams of the –Ist readership, the Washington Redskins turn their attention to the challenges of the offseason. Gibbs’ return to the sideline ended up not being the immediate return to glory that many had desired, but most fans, we’re sure, will simply content themselves knowing that Danny Snyder’s not planning on starting over from scratch for once.

As far as the coaching staff goes, it appears that the Redskins will retain the services of Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams. Williams, who was unceremoniously dumped by Buffalo a year ago, has seen his stock rise over the course of the season as the Redskins defense easily exceeded expectations. Working with a motley crew of cast-offs and who-dats in constant replacement of more highly regarded players, Williams built a world-class defensive system. Most weeks, DCist had a good feeling that if Sandra Day O’Connor were signed on a Wednesday, she’d be mounting a ferocious pass-rush by Sunday.

At the same time, there are those, including News 4’s gaggle of touts on his television show, who think the offense needs to be “modernized” in some way. Color us confused: the offenses usually cited as “modern” in the NFL belong to the Chiefs and Rams—neither of which seem that worthy of emulation. It’s unclear to what extent Gibbs will import offensive talent in the form of coaches to add new ideas or if he’ll simply take his own designs back to the drawing board. In recent weeks, Gibbs hired former Jacksonville Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave to be the team’s new quarterbacks coach.