Redskins Hire Coach Who?
It's been all over the papers and on the tongues of many Washingtonians: who's going to replace Joe Gibbs as head coach of the Redskins? Although only a few weeks long, the saga seemed to stretch on forever. And in the end, the 'Skins surprised everybody, something Dan Snyder seems to enjoy: They picked the man who had just been hired to be the team's offensive coordinator, Jim Zorn. Who?
James Arthur Zorn is not exactly the best known coach out there. He was an NFL quarterback from 1976 to 1987, having most of his success in Seattle, passing to Hall of Famer Steve Largent before Dave Krieg took over. He also played a bit in Green Bay, the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers, then back in the NFL (sort of) with the Tampa Bay Bucs, where he ended his career -- the 'Skins won the Super Bowl that year, interestingly enough.
Zorn then joined the college coaching ranks as QB boss at Boise State, offensive coordinator at Utah State, then quarterbacks coach at Minnesota. After the 1996 season with the Golden Gophers, Zorn rejoined the Seahawks as an offensive assistant, spent a few years with Detroit, then came back to the Starbucks City as quarterbacks coach, holding that position until right now. And he did pretty well there, helping Matt Hasselbeck go from sixth round draft choice to three-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl starter. Maybe that's why Zorn, somebody who was never a pro offensive coordinator, let alone head coach, is here: to groom Jason Campbell (or some other QB) to success in the league. It's not a bad gamble.
The coaching odyssey beget a lot of questions. Would it be former Giants head coach and more recently Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Fassel? No, thankfully, since the Ravens offense was about as successful as the French army in World War II. Fassel did get the G-Men to the Super Bowl in 2000, but was fired a few years later after some lackluster seasons. There was former Bills coach and Skins defensive wiz Gregg Williams. Everybody liked him and he interviewed four times with owner Dan Snyder, but then got the boot and headed to Jacksonville.
Former Hog Russ Grimm was popular, winning the poll at DCist (if you don't count "other"), but he didn't get much traction. There was the dark horse, Steve Spagnuolo, who led the Giants defense to the Super Bowl title. The Giants offered him a new deal and he took his name out of the running, which the Post's Sally Jenkins recommended, claiming Spagnuolo's friends would tell him "Daniel Snyder isn't really looking for a head coach, he just wants to hire another butler." Burn.
There were a few other names bandied about, like former 49ers and Lions head coach Steve Mariucci, Colts defensive coordinator Ron Meeks, even Jim Mora the younger (i.e. not the "Playoffs!?/Diddly Poo" guy). And in the end, there was Z.
What do you think, Redskins fans? Will Zorn (doing the funky chicken in this recent photo) be Joe Gibbs I, or another Richie Pettibon/Norv Turner? Or are the Redskins doomed, no matter what coach they pick, because of who is sitting in the owner's box?