The following is a transcript of a press conference announcing that Richie Petitbon has been named to the Redskins Ring of Fame at FedExField:
REDSKINS OWNER DANIEL M. SNYDER:
"As a coach, Richie Petitbon put up remarkable numbers; incredible, historic numbers. Sixty-one turnovers in 1983, and he was just an amazing, amazing coach. Looking at the history of the franchise, honoring coaches is as important as honoring great players. The 45th member is Richie Petitbon, and we're just ecstatic to introduce him."
RICHIE PETITBON:
"Let me just say that this is really a great honor for me, a very surprising honor, so to speak. I just want to thank everyone in the Redskins organization, past and present, obviously, the players that I had the privilege of coaching for so many years. I'd like to thank the defensive staff that was with me the whole time, Larry Peccatiello, 'Torgy' Torgenson, Emmitt Thomas, and Bobby DePaul. I think that was probably one of the best defensive staffs that has ever been around, and I certainly was lucky to have them. I'd also like to thank my family, because in this business you have to put in long hours and there's a tremendous amount of pressure. Through all the highs and lows, we've always been wonderful, and it goes without saying that a lot of the credit goes to them. Especially, I would like to thank Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen for making this all possible, because without them, it all wouldn't have been possible. So thank you very much."
On if he thought he'd go into coaching:
"No, I had no idea that I'd go into coaching. That was probably the furthest thing from my mind. I thought I could play football forever."
On why he's surprised to be inducted:
"Well, I think any time you receive something like this, to be included with the great coaches and players up there, I find it very difficult to go in with people like that. I think it's a surprise."
On his highlights in Washington:
"Well, I think the Super Bowls. The reason that you play this game is to win it all, and we had the good fortune to get there four time and win it three. And I think if I had to pick out one moment, it was after we won the first one against Miami in Los Angeles. And the first thing that came to my mind was, I said, 'I'll never get fired again. I can always find a job after that.' And that was a great moment for me. As a defensive coordinator, I never thought I'd be fired."
On defining "Redskins football":
"I think I could only relate to what transpired when I was here, but you visualize championships, you visualize physical football, a team that's going to play defense, run the football, and win close games."
On being a fan of the team now:
"Well, it hasn't been fun. But let me say this, and not as a Pollyanna -- people who know me, know that I very seldom shoot the breeze. I think this football team is really on the right track. I've seen tremendous improvement and certainly it's not there yet. But I certainly think they're on the right track."
On his poor season as head coach:
"After it was over, I kind of had a sour taste in my mouth, but I think we made a lot of mistakes that first year. The thing that Charley Casserley did that year is he tried to get under the salary cap before we had a salary cap, and we lost a lot of good football players and couldn't recover. After that fiasco, I just decided to pack it in."
On similarities of playing for George Allen and coaching with Joe Gibbs:
"It's really hard to pick out what they had in common because George Allen was really a defensive coach and Joe was a offensive coach. The thing that they really had in common was a tremendous desire to win and the ability to just out-work people. They were not afraid of hard work, and we put in a lot of time, but it paid off."
On not being on the 70 Greatest Redskins:
"I've got to be honest with you, I didn't even know they had a list."
On if he was tempted to return to coaching when Joe Gibbs returned in 2004:
"No, I really didn't. I just lost my urge. The thing about coaching football, is that the hardest thing is you have to prepare. And once you lose the will to put in the time and prepare, you have to get out. And I lost that and i just stayed out."
