Bubba Tyer, the Redskins' head trainer for 25 years and a member of the organization for all but one of the past 38 seasons, retired on Jan. 16. Coupled with the retirement of tight ends coach Rennie Simmons on Jan. 7, offensive line coach Joe Bugel is the last link to Washington's 1980s glory days under Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs.
"It's time," said Tyer, who turns 67 in July. "Very few people get to stay with one organization for (37) years. I had a lot of great moments. I'll miss being here, but the staff is in great shape without me."
Perhaps, but Tyer had become almost as much a part of the Redskins as their burgundy and gold colors and "Hail To The Redskins." Tyer, who worked 602 Redskins games, is enshrined in the franchise's Ring of Fame at FedEx Field.
"Bubba is one of the most respected people I have been around," said Bugel, who worked with Tyer from 1981-89 and 2004-08. "He did his job with passion and had great loyalty to the organization. He is a friend that I will have forever. He is more than a friend -- he was like a brother. He is one guy who is always there for you."
Tyer was hired in 1971 by new coach George Allen to assist veteran trainer Joe Kuczo. Coincidentally, that season marked the beginning of a renaissance for the franchise which hadn't reached postseason since 1945. During Tyer's first 22 years in Washington, the Redskins made the playoffs 13 times, won five NFC titles and three Super Bowls.
Seven players Tyer helped heal -- Darrell Green, Ken Houston, Deacon Jones, Sonny Jurgensen, Art Monk, John Riggins and Charley Taylor -- are enshrined in Canton. Bruce Smith, Russ Grimm, Champ Bailey and others may well eventually become Hall of Famers, too.
"It is incredible to see the impact Bubba has had on the Washington Redskins and in the National Football League," coach Jim Zorn said. "The thing I discovered about him is how deeply he cares about this organization, and his passion for the profession. He had a great presence and a tremendous intelligence in the arena of athletic training. Obviously there's science to being an athletic trainer, but I think Bubba made an art of recovery and rehab, and I think he did it in a tremendous way."
Tyer loved his toughest players, displaying their locker nameplates in the training room. He has moved that collection to his Northern Virginia home.
The native Texan won't give up his hatred for the archrival Dallas Cowboys either. Tyer accepted owner Dan Snyder's invitation to make the trip south for the Dallas game in 2009 to see the Cowboys' new stadium.
"We'd be in the middle of a war with Dallas and I'd hear this voice above all the others screaming, 'Goooooooo Redskins' and it would be Bubba," Gibbs said, laughing. "Bubba fought with us every day. He's a Redskin through and through."
