Retirement, interrupted

A few years ago, if asked his potential objectives for Labor Day 2008, devising a game plan to beat the defending Super Bowl champions, worrying about the health of his best pass rusher and supervising a staff of five coaches would have been way down on Greg Blache’s list.

By now, Blache’s plan was to be retired and his intentions enjoyable.

Wisconsin.

Fishing.

Cocktails.

Grilling.

His defensive coordinating days behind him, Blache arrived in Washington in 2004 with a modest goal: coach the defensive line and then glide into retirement and a well-earned life of the aforementioned activities in the aforementioned locale, spending time with family and friends following a career that started in 1971 as a Notre Dame graduate assistant.

Often, though, the best intentions fall by the wayside; as a result, Blache will be in New Jersey on Thursday night running a defense for the first time since 2003 when the Washington Redskins open their season against the New York Giants. And suffice it to say, it’s not the same as a weekend in rural Wisconsin.

Meadowlands.

Fear.

Nausea.

Indigestion.

“It’s the not knowing that works on you the most,” Blache said. “You want to win, but you’re not certain of the outcome.”

But listen to Blache and the impression is he wouldn’t have it any other way. Tabbed by owner Dan Snyder to replace Gregg Williams when Snyder and Vinny Cerrato decided Williams wouldn’t be their new coach, Blache agreed to inherit a defense with nearly all of the same faces in the locker room and coaches’ conference room. He’s a football guy. He lives for game day, no matter how it tears up his insides. And for at least this season, it beats retirement.

“I like this,” he said. “I’m having fun. I really am glad I did this. We have one plan in life. The Lord has another. For some reason, his plan always works more than ours.”

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