Russ Grimm's Non-Fairy Tale Weekend

Skins standout shutout

Years from now, Russ Grimm might think back on this weekend and curse loudly -- assuming he doesn't blank it out. 

The former Hog got a double whammy, a triple even.  His team lost the Super Bowl to the coach who took the job he thought he should've had, and he missed out again in the Hall of Fame balloting.

A third-round pick, Grimm rose to prominence as one of the original Hogs, who powered the Redskins through the Joe Gibbs glory years.

No Hog is in the Hall of Fame despite their sustained decade of dominance in front of seemingly hundreds of quarterbacks.

No matter the guy behind them, the big guys lumbered, strained, and carried the offense.  They were the foundation for the Redskins' success and Grimm, as much as any of them, deserves recognition for those efforts.  It is, after all, not every group of players that'll inspire a bunch of middle-aged men to dress up in drag in their honor (or even just a pig nose).

This weekend, Grimm also had to deal with his connection to Pittsburgh.  He was one of the finalists for the Steelers coaching job after Bill Cowher exited stage right.  When Cardinals coach Ken Wisenhunt went to Arizona, a few reports named the Hog as their coach.  But it wasn't to be.  The 'Burgh went with Mike Tomlin, and Grimm headed out west. 

The success of Grimm's current team might've been a bit of consolation news for his disappointment on Saturday.  And while there's certainly something to be proud of with how well the Cardinals did, making it to the Super Bowl for the first time, with such a close game, Grimm, no doubt, is going to play a bit of "what if?"

He undoubtedly would've taken some measure of pride in beating the Steelers in the Super Bowl, but it wasn't to be.

But for a guy who made his hall-of-fame caliber career on quietly pushing around other teams and exerting his will, he probably wouldn't have let us know anyway.

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