I must admit that I was a bit stunned that Jim Zorn was named the new Redskins head coach. Then I wondered how I could be stunned that I was stunned by anything the Redskins do.
As fellow Fanhouser Michael David Smith said, "sounds like a Snyder kind of guy, but I have a feeling Redskins fans won't be happy." I'm a Redskins fan ... and I don't know what to feel, but it's in the same room as happy. This is something new for Snyder: a virtual no name. He's not Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier or Joe Gibbs. He's an assistant coach from another team and part of a long, successful, coaching tree. The unknown, I guess, makes it exciting.
Zorn is a twig off the giant Bill Walsh coaching tree ... off the Mike Holmgren branch. Holmgren has begat guys like Mike Sherman, Andy Reid, Marty Mornhinweg, Steve Mariucci, Jon Gruden and Ray Rhodes. Not all of them have had outstanding head coaching careers, but most have had some sort of success. Plus, it is interesting to see how well those Mike Holmgren quarterbacks coaches move on to head jobs.
Steve Mariucci was Holmgren's QB coach from 1992-1995. Marty Mornhinweg (who later was the head coach in Detroit) was the QB coach for the Packers' Super season of 1996. Andy Reid was a QB coach for Holmgren in 1997-1998. Zorn has been Holmgren's QB coach in Seattle since 2001.
Of course, this tree I've been talking about means that the West Coast Offense is coming to Washington. Not sure how that will play for a franchise that has loves the smash mouth/deep ball style.
Now, back to that "Synder kind of guy" comment that Michael David Smith made. I'm hoping this is the new Snyder. Remember, the old Snyder liked names more than anything ... and everything was pointing to that again. Guys like Jim Mora, Steve Mariucci, Jim Fassel and even Pete Carroll were on the list. And who didn't have a little compartment in their brain that was reserved for some outrageous hire like John Madden, Jimmy Johnson, Chuck Noll or something like that? This is Daniel Snyder we are talking about.
My main hope/wish/prayer is that Snyder hired Zorn to do what Zorn wants to do. I'm all for giving this guy a shot at making this work if he is allowed to do the things he needs to do.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-09-2008 @ 10:31PM
Imran said...
Yeah it would be pretty shocking if Snyder hired CHuck Noll... mostly because Noll would be the first dead head coach ever.
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Reply from The Sportz Assassin:
Someone better tell Noll that he's dead. He just celebrated his 76th birthday a month ago and was honored at Heinz Field last October.
-Sportz
Reply
2-10-2008 @ 11:58AM
Riko said...
I have to say I am very suprised at this hire. I am willing to give him a chance but at the same time a little worried that he is just holding the position till a big name becomes available (cowher) we will see, we have the tools for the west coast offense we just have to hope the players buy into it
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2-10-2008 @ 6:25PM
Geof A said...
Wow you will get a class act, this guy is very intense and has a
extensive knowledge of the game on both sides of the ball, BTW he had
this knowledge way before he hooked up w/ Mikw Holmgren, Go Jim, heck
I`m a Skins fan again and have not been since Riggins and jurgenson the players will love playing for this guy for sure!!! GO Skins!!!!
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2-10-2008 @ 9:26PM
Geof A said...
Wow< you will get a class act, this guy is very intense and has a extensive knowledge of the game on both sides of the ball, BTW he had this knowledge way before he hooked up w/ Mikw Holmgren, Go Jim, heck I`m a Skins fan again and have not been since Riggins and jurgenson
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2-11-2008 @ 12:44AM
kirk said...
Thank gawd i didnt kill Zorn when he worked for the Lions. I drove Limo for the Lions in 2000. Drove Boyz-2-Men to game on turkey day vs. the Pats. As i backed up, Zorn walked behind my limo and i almost ran him over. Quick Zorn side-stepped the limo like he did when he played.
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2-11-2008 @ 2:07PM
UncleBuck said...
Mr. Dan is as shrewd as it gets. He's strictly a stock-up stock-down kind of owner. I speculate that he has "played" all of the financial implications of every coaching scenario to its fullest potential. Here's what happened, as I see it:
He had Fassel at hello. He probably said something to the effect of, "if you were to be the head coach of the Washington Redskins, this is how your deal would be structured. They negotiated from there."
Danny Boy won't say peep to the media (instant denial capability), but he's quite certain that an excited Fassel and his, presumably, money-grubbing agent, will "leak" information to the press.
Knowing full well that the press will assume it to be true, takes it and runs. -- All the while, Danny Boy sits back and checks the pulse of Redskins nation. Feeling outrage and confusion (and ultimately the hit to his bottom line), Danny pulls back the reigns and the coaching search continues.
He then goes with Chapter 2 of the Idiot's Guide to How to be a Marketing Genius, entitled, "If You Don't Know What You're Doing, Take an Unknown. Noone will Blame You."
He then plays the local Redskins media yes-man, (aka Larry Michael on the Redskins-owned Broadcasting Station), and the propaganda begins:
"He could be the next Joe Gibbs when he was first hired out of nowhere"
"Doesn't it make sense to hire the QB Coach outright, instead of having something happen here like it is in Dallas where you now have an open competition for head coach."
This is the spin from Danny World.
Reality is, it's a crap-shoot, and Danny Boy knows it. But then again, he who laughs last, counts all the money from the poor shnooks who buy it.
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