Former Redskins coach new Falcons minority owner

FLOWERY BRANCH - Out of the NFL since 1992, Joe Gibbs jumped at the chance to buy a minority stake in the Atlanta Falcons. <br> <br> Gibbs, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996 after winning three Super Bowls in 12 years as coach of the Washington Redskins, was announced Friday as one of three minority owners. <br> <br> ``Having spent 30 years of my life and having a chance to maybe now be able to make some kind of contribution back to the NFL, I&#39;m excited about that,&#39;&#39; Gibbs said at Darlington Raceway. ``Ownership normally directs everything in the NFL.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> New Falcons owner Arthur Blank first got to know Gibbs through Home Depot&#39;s sponsorship in NASCAR. Gibbs, who owns cars raced by Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte, formed a friendship with Blank, a Home Depot co-founder who bought the Falcons last month for $545 million. <br> <br> ``I think it was absolutely fantastic for Arthur, the community and everyone that he was able to purchase the Falcons,&#39;&#39; Gibbs said. ``Through that process, we were sitting one night and he said, &#39;Would you like to have a small interest in this?&#39; and I jumped through the roof. I said, &#39;Yeah!&#39; &#39;&#39; <br> <br> Gibbs joined two of Blank&#39;s friends in the Atlanta business community venture capitalist John Imlay and Post Properties CEO John Williams in buying a total of 5 percent of the franchise for $27 million. <br> <br> Those three, along with former Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski, Atlanta Olympic organizer Billy Payne, former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young and five others on Blank&#39;s new board of directors. The board is expected to meet for the first time in April. <br> <br> Late Falcons owner Rankin Smith Sr., whose family sold the team to Blank, consulted with Gibbs in 1987 when he was searching for a new coach. Gibbs helped Smith contact Dick Vermeil and Terry Donahue, but the Falcons ended up hiring Marion Campbell, whose career Atlanta record was 17-51, for a second time. <br> <br> Gibbs, a full-time NASCAR owner, couldn&#39;t say how much direct involvement he&#39;d have with the Falcons. But he compared Blank to late Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke. <br> <br> ``He is one of the those guys that is going to say, &#39;Hey, whatever it takes to win, we&#39;re going to do it,&#39; &#39;&#39; Gibbs said. ``I think he believes in people. I&#39;ve kind of watched him and I think he&#39;s going to be a great owner. It&#39;s going to be neat to part of it with him.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Blank described Gibbs and Falcons coach Dan Reeves as longtime friends. The Redskins beat Reeves&#39; Denver Broncos 42-10 in the 1988 Super Bowl. <br> <br> ``They competed across the field from each other for a number of years, but they admire each other immensely, both professionally and personally,&#39;&#39; Blank said. ``It was an opportunity to have (Gibbs&#39;) counsel, which has been important to me, just in the last several months. That will be important for us in the future.&#39;&#39;