News broke today of the all but certain hiring of Jim Haslett as the Redskins new defensive coordinator. My initial reaction is one of measured optimism. A new DC means new potential for many of our talented players. Washington has consistently fielded a top 10 defense and now has the potential to step it up even further being led by what many consider to be a solid defensive mind.

I’ll be honest when I say that I don’t know a whole lot about Jim Haslett. It looks like he ran some solid defenses in Pittsburgh. He’s been around. Had a nice season in the UFL last year. People are talking him up like he’s one of the better DCs out there, but I really have to do more research. I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot from him soon and we’ll see for ourselves what he’s all about soon enough.

Many questions are brought up now though. Does the Haslett hiring herald the landing of the 3-4 in D.C.? Will there be a hybrid system installed to take advantage of our personnels’ strengths while making a transition to the new defense? How will Big Al react if he is asked to play a new role on the line? Will our corners be allowed to actually line up closer to the line of scrimmage than say, the Orange Lot? I can’t wait to see.

To Jim – Good luck, and welcome to D.C. We’re pullin’ for ya.