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HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – As the last of the sun dropped below the pines, the 9- and 10-year-olds sitting on tackling dummies listened to the older guy in the FedEx Racing cap they knew only as "Coach." They sat as patiently as kids possibly can, trying to hold their heads still inside the bobbling Redskins helmets. They sat there as Coach lectured on the proper positioning of the wide receiver and tight end, and popped up when Coach told them it was time to go run a few more plays. Coach didn't raise his voice, didn't mock them or call them out, and for the kids, that was good enough.

Their dads, though … their dads knew the truth.

"Coach" is Joe Gibbs, the legendary three-time Super Bowl champion coach. He's once again patrolling the sideline, and watching him diagram plays for kids is like watching Eric Clapton give guitar lessons.

Joe Gibbs is one of those rare men who has reached the mountaintop in not one, but two hyper-competitive sports. He took the Washington Redskins to the Super Bowl four times and went 3-1 in the big game, knocking off the Dolphins, Broncos and Bills. Then he hung up the whistle and created Joe Gibbs Racing, where he's won three championships in NASCAR's elite series. This year, with only eight races remaining, the top two cars in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship are JGR teams.

Indeed, on this particular Monday evening, he's barely 15 hours removed from a NASCAR celebration in Chicago, where JGR's Matt Kenseth won the first race of the Chase. Yet here's Gibbs, alongside his sons J.D. and Coy, coaching youngsters on the finer points of handoffs and snap counts.

"These are kids in fourth and fifth grade, they have no idea what he did," J.D. Gibbs, now president of JGR, says of his father. "It's just great to see him engage with these kids."





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So what brought Gibbs back to the field? One word: family. He's got quite a few grandsons, and as they reach football age, Gibbs spends a few seasons giving them some lessons from the master.

"I love coaching my grandkids, but I love working with my two sons. J.D. is the head coach and I'm the assistant, you believe that?" Joe Gibbs says with a chuckle. And then, for a moment, the talk turns serious.

"I missed so much of them growing up," Gibbs says in a quieter voice. "I really messed up there. So I like working with J.D. and Coy. I'm trying not to do the same thing again. With J.D. and Coy, I missed so much. With the grandkids, I try to do something special with them every week."

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