Following the death of Redskins head coach Vince Lombardi 17 days prior to the start of the 1970 season, Washington finished 6–8 under interim coach Bill Austin. Shortly after the conclusion of the 1970 season, the Redskins hired George Allen as their head coach, hoping he could turn the team's fortunes around. Allen's philosophy was that veteran players win games, so immediately after taking over the team, he traded away most of the younger team members and draft choices for older, more established players. His motto was "The future is now." Washington quickly became the oldest team in the NFL and earned the nickname "The Over-the-Hill Gang." The average age of starters was 31 years old.Dave Hyde, Still Perfect! The Untold Story of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, p. 239. Dolphins/Curtis Publishing, 2002 However, Allen's strategy turned the Redskins around, as the team improved to a 9–4–1 record in 1971, and finished the 1972 season with an NFC-best 11–3 record.
following the death of redskins head coach vince lombardi 17 days prior to the start of the 1970 season washington finished 6–8 under interim coach bill austin shortly after the conclusion of the 1970 season the redskins hired george allen as their head coach hoping he could turn the team's fortunes around allen's philosophy was that veteran players win games so immediately after taking over the team he traded away most of the younger team members and draft choices for older more established players his motto was "the future is now" washington quickly became the oldest team in the nfl and earned the nickname "the over-the-hill gang" the average age of starters was 31 years olddave hyde still perfect the untold story of the 1972 miami dolphins p 239 dolphins/curtis publishing 2002 however allen's strategy turned the redskins around as the team improved to a 9–4–1 record in 1971 and finished the 1972 season with an nfc-best 11–3 record