The story of the coach who ended a Washington dynasty and disappeared

The history of the Washington Commanders' franchise is a proud one, dating back to the team's two pre-Super Bowl era NFL championships in 1937 and 1942. But it's not all prosperous.

The three additional Vince Lombardi trophies in 10 years, between 1982 and 1991, made Washington one of the NFL's premier organizations. Now, in a new era under Josh Harris' ownership, the team is on the path to return to glory.

Of course, the memories from the quarter century under Dan Snyder's reign were much less than fond, making the time between Washington's most recent Super Bowl victory and his acquisition of the franchise in 1999 somewhat of a lost era in Commanders lore. It wasn't infamously bad, but it also lacked the success of the previous decade.

What happened to Washington's football team between 1992 and 1999, setting the stage for the dark years? It all started with Joe Gibbs' initial retirement and a successor who wasn't quite able to fill his shoes.

Washington's 1993 season under Richie Petitbon was the beginning of the end

The name Richie Petitbon should be one that's celebrated in Washington. He was a three-time Super Bowl champion as a defensive coordinator under Gibbs and is a member of the Commanders' Ring of Fame. Instead, younger generations are likely not very familiar with him, while older fans may most remember his one-year head coaching tenure in 1993. It did not go well.

Washington entered the 1993 season only two years removed from a Super Bowl, and having still made the playoffs with a 9-7 record the previous campaign. Mark Rypien remained the quarterback, and the roster featured additional key contributors with championship pedigree, such as Art Monk, Darrell Green, Jeff Bostic, Charles Mann, and Brian Mitchell.

However, most of those players were aging, and the team took a bigger hit than expected from Gibbs' departure.

Washington opened the season with an impressive 35-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys (who would go on to win the Super Bowl) in which Rypien threw three touchdowns. But he would struggle mightily afterward with only one score the entire rest of the year as the team went 4-12.

Petitbon took much of the criticism and was relieved of his duties following the season as the organization hired an outsider in Norv Turner. The former standout coordinator was never heard from again in the NFL.

He went on to work for a family alarm company operation. The Pettibon Alarm Company is still active today and is run by his son Richie Jr. and grandson Richie III, with the motto "Defense is a Family Tradition."

It's quite the unique fall from grace for a successful NFL coach, albeit one who just wasn't cut out to oversee an entire roster. For Washington, it took decades for the team to fully recover. The Commanders wouldn't win more than 10 games in a season or advance past the second round of the playoffs again until accomplishing both feats in 2024.

Maybe after facing the mass public scrutiny that comes with being a head coach in professional sports, and especially being handed the impossible task of following in the footsteps of the legendary Gibbs, returning to private life with his family business was more ideal for Pettibon anyway.

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