The Jim Zorn Era ending this morning in Washington. While it's sad to see someone lose his job, it wasn't like no one saw this coming for months. So when we look back, what will Redskins history think of Zorn?
A complete mess.
It isn't all Zorn's fault. He never should have been hired to be the head coach in the first place. Remember that when Joe Gibbs retired, owner Daniel Snyder hired Zorn to be the offensive coordinator before even hiring a head coach. Instead of doing the sensible thing and hiring then defensive coordinator Gregg Williams for the gig, he ran off everyone and ... well, I don't know what he was trying to do. Two weeks after getting the coordinator job, Zorn was offered the head coaching job. Nice.
At his first news conference, Zorn said he was happy to be with the "black and maroon". Okay, he's a Seattle guy and probably didn't know much about the Redskins lore. But why did Zorn have on his plate the role of head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach? Zorn's highest level of coaching was quarterbacks coach in Seattle. Why give him too much to do?
Anyone could see that this was a recipe for disaster. But the Joe Gibbs Redskins left a lot of talent, a young quarterback that can be worked with and a stellar defense. When the Redskins shot out to a 6-2 record to begin the 2008 season ... and with Jason Campbell playing at an MVP level ... it all looked like one of the shrewdest moves Snyder ever made.
Then it all came crashing down. The Skins would go on to lose six of their final eight games and finish last in the highly competitive NFC East. There were some grumblings that Zorn may be fired as a plethora of big name coaches with Super Bowl experience hit the market. Zorn looked like he was in over his head and new leadership may be needed before he lost the team.
That had nothing on the 2009 season.
Zorn inherited the easiest beginning of a schedule that anyone has ever seen. After facing the Giants, they got the lowly Rams, Lions, Buccaneers, Panthers and Chiefs. In those six games, Washington's opponent walked into the stadium without a win on the season. The Giants, Lions, Panthers and Chiefs all recorded their first victory against the Redskins.
It was a horrible stretch. Not only did they end the Lions zillion game losing streak, they also barely beat the Rams (9-7) and Bucs (16-13). St. Louis finished the season with the league's worst record (1-15). Zorn was stripped of his play-calling duties, as they were given to recently hired consultant Sherman Lewis. It didn't help that the offense started showing life after this change was made.
Because the second half of the schedule was so brutal, this failure to capitalize on cupcakes doomed Zorn's future. The Redskins lost 10 of their last 12 games (though fighting valiantly from Weeks 10 to 14) and Zorn was a dead man walking.
Zorn's a nice guy and I think he'll land on his feet back to what he was: a QBs coach. He was quirky, entertaining and pretty humble. But he wasn't a good head coach. Still, it says a lot when your players keep on fighting for you ... which was happening late in the year. When Vinny Cerrato was fired and Bruce Allen named as his replacement, the writing was on the wall and the team just mailed it in.
Zorn's era ends with a 12-20 record ... the same as the disasterous Steve Spurrier era that preceeded Joe Gibbs second stint in DC. This was a franchise that hadn't had a head coach with a total losing record with the Skins since Bill McPeak from 1961-1965. Since Snyder took over, we haven't had a winning coach (six straight, if you are counting).
When we look back at Zorn, we'll see a guy that couldn't contain all the responsibilities laid upon him. We'll see a guy that cared and was passionate about his job during his time here. We'll see a guy that, despite all the swirling dark clouds surrounding him, was professional and kept plugging away.
The new coach isn't walking into an empty cupboard. The defense was one of the NFL's best this season and rookie LB/DE Brian Orakpo is a budding star. The problem will be on the offensive side where there really isn't anything to be hopeful about. Can Jason Campbell be a winning quarterback? Is Clinton Portis' career in the end stages? Can the young receivers make that third-year improvement we see from wideouts? Can they replace the entire offensive line?
The Redskins begin trying to answer those questions now.
A complete mess.
It isn't all Zorn's fault. He never should have been hired to be the head coach in the first place. Remember that when Joe Gibbs retired, owner Daniel Snyder hired Zorn to be the offensive coordinator before even hiring a head coach. Instead of doing the sensible thing and hiring then defensive coordinator Gregg Williams for the gig, he ran off everyone and ... well, I don't know what he was trying to do. Two weeks after getting the coordinator job, Zorn was offered the head coaching job. Nice.
At his first news conference, Zorn said he was happy to be with the "black and maroon". Okay, he's a Seattle guy and probably didn't know much about the Redskins lore. But why did Zorn have on his plate the role of head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach? Zorn's highest level of coaching was quarterbacks coach in Seattle. Why give him too much to do?
Anyone could see that this was a recipe for disaster. But the Joe Gibbs Redskins left a lot of talent, a young quarterback that can be worked with and a stellar defense. When the Redskins shot out to a 6-2 record to begin the 2008 season ... and with Jason Campbell playing at an MVP level ... it all looked like one of the shrewdest moves Snyder ever made.
Then it all came crashing down. The Skins would go on to lose six of their final eight games and finish last in the highly competitive NFC East. There were some grumblings that Zorn may be fired as a plethora of big name coaches with Super Bowl experience hit the market. Zorn looked like he was in over his head and new leadership may be needed before he lost the team.
That had nothing on the 2009 season.
Zorn inherited the easiest beginning of a schedule that anyone has ever seen. After facing the Giants, they got the lowly Rams, Lions, Buccaneers, Panthers and Chiefs. In those six games, Washington's opponent walked into the stadium without a win on the season. The Giants, Lions, Panthers and Chiefs all recorded their first victory against the Redskins.
It was a horrible stretch. Not only did they end the Lions zillion game losing streak, they also barely beat the Rams (9-7) and Bucs (16-13). St. Louis finished the season with the league's worst record (1-15). Zorn was stripped of his play-calling duties, as they were given to recently hired consultant Sherman Lewis. It didn't help that the offense started showing life after this change was made.
Because the second half of the schedule was so brutal, this failure to capitalize on cupcakes doomed Zorn's future. The Redskins lost 10 of their last 12 games (though fighting valiantly from Weeks 10 to 14) and Zorn was a dead man walking.
Zorn's a nice guy and I think he'll land on his feet back to what he was: a QBs coach. He was quirky, entertaining and pretty humble. But he wasn't a good head coach. Still, it says a lot when your players keep on fighting for you ... which was happening late in the year. When Vinny Cerrato was fired and Bruce Allen named as his replacement, the writing was on the wall and the team just mailed it in.
Zorn's era ends with a 12-20 record ... the same as the disasterous Steve Spurrier era that preceeded Joe Gibbs second stint in DC. This was a franchise that hadn't had a head coach with a total losing record with the Skins since Bill McPeak from 1961-1965. Since Snyder took over, we haven't had a winning coach (six straight, if you are counting).
When we look back at Zorn, we'll see a guy that couldn't contain all the responsibilities laid upon him. We'll see a guy that cared and was passionate about his job during his time here. We'll see a guy that, despite all the swirling dark clouds surrounding him, was professional and kept plugging away.
The new coach isn't walking into an empty cupboard. The defense was one of the NFL's best this season and rookie LB/DE Brian Orakpo is a budding star. The problem will be on the offensive side where there really isn't anything to be hopeful about. Can Jason Campbell be a winning quarterback? Is Clinton Portis' career in the end stages? Can the young receivers make that third-year improvement we see from wideouts? Can they replace the entire offensive line?
The Redskins begin trying to answer those questions now.
No comments:
Post a Comment