Jim Zorn Named Redskins Head Coach


After 32 days, the Washington Redskins have finally completed their coaching search. Reluctant to hire Gregg Williams, Al Saunders, Steve Mariucci and Jim Fassel, spurned by Bill Cowher, Pete Carroll and Steve Spagnuolo, Daniel Snyder and Vinny Cerrato eventually settled on the man they hired to be their offensive coordinator two weeks ago, former Seattle quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn. I really don't know what to say. Wow.
Considering the alternatives available at the moment (Fassel), I suppose Zorn isn't that bad of a hire. (Granted, he's never been on anybody's coaching radar, but neither was Joe Gibbs in 1981.) However, looking back on the entirety of the coaching search, the "promotion" of Zorn looks absurd. Did Dinny really let Gregg Williams go so they could hire a guy who's never been anything more than a quarterbacks coach in the NFL? If they really wanted Zorn to run their offense, why not just make Williams the head coach and assign Zorn as OC? Oh, because that might have made too much sense.
The only logical explanation for why Zorn was hired tonight is that no other man, woman or inanimate object wanted to work for Dinny (other than Gregg Williams). Spagnuolo couldn't get out of D.C. quick enough; he left Snyder's house at 1 a.m. the other night to get back to New York. Cowher didn't even interview. I fear we'll never know the real reason Jim Fassel was passed over, but I assume Snyder feared the public backlash would translate into a hit on his wallet.
Had Zorn been hired two weeks ago, maybe that would have made a little sense. He'd have been the unknown hire, the guy Redskins fans would hope was the next great coach who toiled in anonymity before making it big. But to do it like this was a complete debacle. Maybe Dinny knows something we don't, though. In his two weeks as offensive coordinator, perhaps Zorn learned the subtle nuances of NFL football.
Look, it's not that I'm all that upset that the 'Skins hired Jim Zorn. I'm hopeful that he will continue the good work that Joe Gibbs began here. Unlike a Jim Fassel or a Denny Green, there's no reason to instantly dismiss Zorn's abilities, mainly because he's never had a chance to demonstrate them.
Maybe the Jim Zorn hire will be the best coaching move the Washington Redskins could have made following Joe Gibbs' resignation. Maybe; but with Snyder and Cerrato making personnel decisions, it doesn't much matter.

Update: An awesome back-handed compliment by Jason Reid in his article about the hire in The Washington Post: "Zorn developed a good reputation as a tutor of quarterbacks while as a position coach with the Seattle Seahawks." That's great, guys. Your new head coach is a good tutor of quarterbacks.
Update #2: From Jason La Canfora's blog: "[Zorn] spent a lot of time with Vinny Cerrato and Dan Snyder in the past two days, team sources said, and the brass - Cerrato in particular - "fell in love with him." Anybody else get the sense that 3-card Monte dealers on the street make a lot of money whenever Vinny Cerrato walks by?
Update #3: Let's take a minute to appreciate the timing of this announcement. Knowing that they're the laughingstock of the league, Dinny waits until 7:00 on a Saturday night to announce that Zorn got the job. You can always count on Dan Snyder for one thing: Subtlety.
Update #4: OK, I'm not anti-Zorn. Of all the names bandied about in recent weeks, Zorn provides more optimism than the tired retreads like Fassel or Mariucci. However, Zorn is 54. That's not at all old for a first-time head coach, but it is old for a quarterbacks coach who has never had a more-important coaching job. If Zorn had spent the last seven years as Seattle's offensive coordinator, 54 would be a perfect age. But doesn't it say a little something that he's a 54 year old man who has never had a job title higher than quarterbacks coach? I think it has to. Vinny Cerrato apparently does not.