Zorn's initial reaction to getting head coach interview: Ack, ack

by Skin Patrol on Feb 25, 2008 2:57 PM EST

Look, even I can't make this shit up. Per Hometown Annapolis which alleges to be the web site of The Capital:

...because Redskins owner Daniel Snyder was unable to find a candidate who suited him and because Zorn so impressed him during their brief time together, Zorn was given an opportunity he never saw coming.

"When I got the news I was even going to get interviewed, I couldn't even get it out to my wife. I was like, "Ack, ack,' " Zorn said. "She said, "What's wrong?' I couldn't get it out for a few seconds that I was going to be interviewed for the head coaching position now. We just kind of went, "Can you believe it?'"

To his enormous credit, neither could many fans, who had no idea that someone else's quarterbacks coach could go from that to our offensive coordinator to our head coach in a matter of weeks. The article also mentions another point that didn't get much carriage here but probably should have, that being that Zorn's former employers must've also been a bit surprised by the move:

A few weeks prior to that, Zorn essentially was told by the Seahawks that his career was not going to advance in Seattle, where he had worked under Mike Holmgren since 2001.

"I really did have a good feel for what was being offered to me in Seattle," Zorn said. "I could be a football coach there for as long as I wanted. But I knew that I was not in line to be elevated, and that was something that I had been working for for a long time. So I chose this opportunity when it came. But I didn't go in and say, "OK, here is (Washington's) deal, do you have anything better for me?' It had already been past that and I was clear that there wasn't."

So now the imperative to beat Seattle grows. As much as I appreciate those bright fellows over at Field Gulls, the Seahawks have pooped the Redskins out of their last two playoff appearances. Now we combine that with the comparable indignity that they don't even think our head coach is worthy of being their offensive coordinator? Something needs to be done about that west coast (excepting their offenses; we'll need that).

Briefly related, John Czarnecki is covering the combine and has a few Redskins tidbits. The first:

There is no doubt that Jim Zorn is a quarterback guru, but most of his offensive assistants are ex-running backs, and there isn't one of them, including Zorn, who has ever called plays in a NFL game. You can also bet that veteran QB Todd Collins will check out both Miami and Atlanta to gauge those teams' interest in him as a stop-gap starter now that Zorn has pledged his allegiance to Jason Campbell.

Zorn may have pledges his alleged allegiance to Jason Campbell in merely asserting him as the starter (which surely Todd Collins must've known long before such a pronouncement was made publicly) but that doesn't mean the Redskins don't want to keep Todd Collins; Jim Zorn said so. Whatever "allegiance" was pledged to JC, it didn't extend to Collins getting the boot.

Also, speculation on John's part but interesting nonetheless. We might have had a Seattle head coach not-named Jim Zorn:

Speaking of the Redskins, you have to wonder if owner Daniel Snyder would have made a run at Seattle's Mike Holmgren if he knew that Holmgren could have gotten free of his contract. And we all know that GM Tim Ruskell would have allowed Holmgren to leave in order to promote Mora now instead of waiting another season. It also sounds like Holmgren will be coaching somewhere next season, or at least hoping to land a job like the one Parcells has in Miami.

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I saw this...

about the hire of Zorn.

Interesting tidbit that is worth reading if for no other reason than it is so short. Anyway, my favorite part:

So, what do you think of our new coach?" Daniel Snyder asked last Thursday....

Sitting at a table in the lobby bar of the Marriott Downtown, the Washington Redskins' owner and his executive vice president-football operations, Vinny Cerrato, waited eagerly for my answer.

Very quickly, I had to come up with a take on Jim Zorn, preferably one that wouldn't provoke any red-wine spillage.

"Uh," I stammered, "I'm just going to trust that you guys know something I don't know, and that's why you did what you did."

Snyder and Cerrato cracked up.

Like two high school kids sitting at the lunch table telling secrets. It is kinda sad that even they are laughing at their own hiring process.

The article quotes Matt Hasselback and Trent Dilfer, which give me some hope. But only some.

by TexSkins on Feb 26, 2008 10:48 PM EST reply actions