Redskins Insider

The Washington Redskins are planning to interview Bill Romanowski for their strength and conditioning coach opening, but a league source warned that an interview doesn't mean Romanowski is any type of favorite for the job.

The Redskins parted ways with their entire strength and conditioning staff last month and have yet to hire anyone. Pitt assistant Buddy Morris interviewed for the position a couple of weeks ago and Fox's Jay Glazer first reported that the team will also talk with Romanowski, a controversial figure who was intimately tied with the BALCO investigation and has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs.

The end of the Super Bowl marks the beginning of the NFL's offseason, which figures to be a busy time for the Redskins' new management team.

Coach Mike Shanahan and General Manager Bruce Allen have revealed little publicly about their plans for a team coming off consecutive last-place finishes in the NFC East. But it seems obvious the roster needs to be improved after last season's 4-12 debacle in which the Redskins had one of the league's least effective offensive lines, no running backs with "home run" potential and gave up too many big passing plays because of breakdowns in the secondary.

The Redskins currently hold the No. 4 overall pick in the three-day draft (April 22-24). In addition to Washington's No. 1 pick, it also has selections in the second, fourth, fifth and seventh rounds. In order to select defensive lineman Jeremy Jarmon in the previous supplemental draft, the Redskins surrendered their third-round pick. Their sixth-round pick went to the Miami Dolphins in the Jason Taylor trade.

Special teams coordinator Danny Smith will have more help next season.

The Redskins today announced the hiring of Richard Hightower as their assistant special teams coach. Hightower, who last season worked as assistant coach-wide receivers for the University of Minnesota, will assist Smith, the team's longtime coordinator. Washington has struggled on special teams while finishing last in the NFC East the previous two seasons.

"We knew we would need someone with a lot of energy to keep up with Danny Smith, and Richard is that kind of coach," Coach Mike Shanahan said in a statement released by the team. "He has both youth and experience, and will be a great asset to our special teams and our organization."

During the 2007-08 season, Hightower was a special teams assistant for the Houston Texans. He joined the Texans' staff during the 2005-06 season as a coaching administrative coordinator, working primarily with the secondary and special teams coaches.

Initially a walk-on at the University of Texas, Hightower was awarded a scholarship during his senior season. For the Longhorns, Hightower played defensive back, wide receiver and contributed on special teams.

(Updated at 6:17 p.m.)

When the Walter Payton Man of the Year award was announced just before kickoff of Super Bowl XLIV, Redskins linebacker London Fletcher's name was not called.

Fletcher was one of the three finalists for the annual award, but Kansas City's Brian Waters was this year's recipient. Waters was also a finalist in 2007.

Don't expect to hear any sense of disappointment cross Fletcher's lips. He'd said several times this week how honored he was simply to be nominated by his teammates and selected as one of three finalists. (Cleveland's Mike Furrey was the other finalist.)

Fletcher said earlier this week he enjoyed time in South Florida. Last weekend, he played in his first Pro Bowl, and he and his family enjoyed the the days leading up to the Super Bowl. Fletcher met with the commissioner, appeared at a news conference for the Man of the Year Award and attended owner Daniel Snyder's Super Bowl
party in Miami.

Dan Steinberg recounts Russ Grimm's antics while Redskins' extended family, via a team release, reacts to Grimm's election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

Daniel M. Snyder: "Our Redskins fans have always appreciated the Hogs. This is a long deserved honor and we are proud to have Russ as a member of the Hall of Fame. Hopefully Russ is the first of the Hogs to be inducted in Canton representing one of the greatest offensive lines in NFL history."

Joe Gibbs: "I'm thrilled for Russ. He is very deserving. He was a big part of our success and our three Super Bowl championships. He was a versatile performer that could play center, guard and tackle and was a great leader. He is a great addition to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and I know there are a lot of Redskins fans that are very happy right now and I'm sure many of them will be in Canton this summer to cheer him on."

Joe Bugel: "He was one of the most complete football players, and people, that I've ever coached. He could play all the positions - center, guard and tackle. He was the leader by example. He wasn't a loudmouth. He just came to work every day. It's a well deserved honor for a great, great football player and a great, great friend."

Jeff Bostic: "It's a great day for the Redskins organization. It's a great day for all the members of the Hogs. We finally got one in. Possibly down the road, Joe Jacoby will get in too. Our team got another one in the Hall of Fame, and that's confirmation for the work we did in the 80's and early 90's."

Finally, there's room for a Hog in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Russ Grimm, a guard on the famed offensive line from the Redskins' teams that went to four Super Bowls and won three in the 1980s and early '90s, was elected to the Hall of Fame this afternoon in south Florida. Grimm joins Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Rickey Jackson, John Randle, Dick LeBeau and Floyd Little in the seven-member class of 2010.

From the Redskins' championship teams, Grimm will join Coach Joe Gibbs, running back John Riggins, wide receiver Art Monk and cornerback Darrell Green in the Hall of Fame. Throughout those years, the Hogs were a constant for a team whose three Super Bowl triumphs came with three different quarterbacks.

"That offensive line had a great run for a long time," former general manager Charley Casserly told Mark Maske recently. "The players changed, but that group was the foundation for four Super Bowl teams. It's hard to believe you can't get one guy into the Hall of Fame."

The induction ceremony will be held Aug. 7 in Canton, Ohio.

Maske has further details and updates.

Clinton Portis appeared on the NFL Network and admitted that, during a game last fall, he asked for Mike Sellers to be benched. Dan Steinberg has the full transcript at the D.C. Sports Bog.

Members of the Pro Football Writers Association voted for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2010 this morning -- will it include Russ Grimm?.The group will be announced shortly after 5:30 p.m. on the NFL Network.

In the Zone ...

Today, in the snowy Redskins Tailgate Zone, moderator Matt "Bobby" McFarland asks which players the Redskins should consider trading. Join the discussion now; it's either that or do more shoveling.

A selection committee of 44 media members will decide Saturday whether one of the Hogs will finally get his Pro Football Hall of Fame ticket punched. But it's just one man who has to stand before the group and present Russ Grimm's case for enshrinement.

David Elfin is the long-time Redskins reporter for the Washington Times, and he's the D.C. representative on the Pro Football Writers Hall of Fame selection committee. That means he'll not only be in the room voting tomorrow on the Class of 2010, but he's also charged with the task of selling the other voters on Grimm's credentials. [Washington Post writers do not participate in voting.]

"It's a weird role because you're a defense attorney - you're making the client's case - but you're also the jury," said Elfin, who has been on the committee for six years. Committee members are charged with presenting the case of the finalist whose career is most associated with his or her market. For Elfin, Darrell Green was a cinch, he said. He had to present Art Monk twice. This is his fourth time presenting Grimm, and he's feeling pretty good about his argument.

We spend so much time debating and discussing the unsavory side of sports that it's worth a moment to pause and reflect a bit more on London Fletcher, one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. It's an award that honors one NFL player each year for his work off the field - not on it - and it's important to remember
what motivates Fletcher in his charitable efforts and why the mission of London's Bridge is so personal to him.

Fletcher, who on Sunday played in his first Pro Bowl, overcame a horrific background to become one of the league's best linebackers.

When he was younger, Fletcher's sister was raped and murdered, his mother hooked on drugs, his father wasn't around and the hungry streets of Cleveland swallowed so many promising children.