Czabe
If Jim Zorn were merely our offensive coordinator, he'd be fired by now.
Considering the fact that two OC's got canned this summer in the NFL based on PRE-season ineptitude, this would hardly be controversial. Firing head coaches after just two weeks, tends to be more dicey.
I say let's pretend he never got promoted to head coach, and just do what needs to be done.
The only problem with that approach, is that it does nothing to guarantee that a better new head coach will be selected. The virtue of firing him now, is to avoid the long awkward remainder of his tenure here with the 'Skins.
Like a bad date, better to call it off during dessert, and before the movie.
When you find yourself 3 times (technically 5 times, but I'm omitting the ill-fated failed 4th and 1 and the resulting kneel downs at the end of the game) inside the 10 with first and goal, and you get just 3 FG's against perhaps the NFL's weakest defensive team, it's a complete embarrassment.
When you refuse to even ATTEMPT to throw the ball INTO the end zone in order to score, it's maddening.
When you run a HB-option pass on the 5 yard line, just how exactly do you expect to get the defense “out of position?”
Forget the fact that special teams coach Danny Smith had to crawl up Zorn's arm to prevent him from calling a timeout too early while precious seconds were bleeding down against the Rams.
Forget the abysmal play call of a slow developing SWEEP to Portis on the SHORT side of the field when all you need is ½ a yard with a battering ram like Mike Sellers.
Nah. Forget all that.
Get rid of Zorn as head coach for the same reason he was hired.
Do it on a whim.
Do it because it makes sense at the time. Call Gibbs again. Ask him if he should be fired. Hell, call Jim Fassel. He was the guy who allegedly approved of Zorn's hire as OC before Snyder turned heel on Fassel for the second time.
No great thoughts were put INTO making him head coach. Don't put much thought into firing him. Chances are, he's not the next Lombardi.
I'm not saying I especially want him fired. I'm just saying you probably should. Does that make sense?
Remember....
a. He was hired as OC despite never having run an offense.
b. The Seahawks, despite his years of service, told Zorn that he was going out with Holmgren, and that his contract was not going to be renewed.
c. No other teams interviewed Zorn for either an OC job, or the head coaching job.
d. When Zorn was offered a chance to interview for the head job, he made a point of saying that he went home, changed into a suit first. This is a telling anecdote about the culture of the Skins under Snyder. Dress up, suck up, move up.
I actually had to go back and look up the stated rationale for hiring Zorn after this debaculous win. Here's the quotes...
"We're proud that our search was diligent, thorough, and resulted in today's announcement," owner Dan Snyder said. "Jim's track record and reputation as a player, great teacher, and as a coach makes us confident that they will translate to success for the Redskins."
"We knew of Jim's stellar offensive reputation, so we hired him as coordinator, but we also suspected he would be a strong candidate for head coach," Snyder said. "After our first six-hour interview with him, I told Joe [Gibbs], 'This guy would make a terrific head coach.' But we stayed true to our commitment to interview every candidate."
The Redskins had to wait until the Super Bowl was played to interview their final candidate, Giants defensive coordinator Spagnuolo. After Spagnuolo announced Thursday that he'd rather stay with the Giants -- who gave him a new three-year, $6 million contract -- Snyder said he invited Zorn to lunch.
"I told him we were considering him as the next head coach, and asked if he wanted to move forward. Without hesitation he said 'absolutely,' and that's all I needed to hear," Snyder said. "We spent two days taking Jim through the same interview process as every other candidate. Those sessions only confirmed my earlier comment to Joe: Jim Zorn will be a terrific head coach."
With the Redskins, Zorn, who was eager for the chance to direct his own offense, is expected to run an aggressive passer-friendly version of the West Coast offense, said a league executive familiar with Zorn's philosophy.
Uh... huh.
If that's “all I needed to hear” according to Snyder, then this should be all he needs to see.
We're now 1-1, with just 1 TD so far from somebody who is not our punter, with a frisky Lions team next week, itching to end their 19 game losing streak. Fun times...
Zorn doesn't give me the feeling that he knows what he wants to do out there. Redzone playcalling is a disaster. Yes, there were two potential TDs dropped, so there's plenty of blame to go around. But, Zorn doesn't attack the endzone. Every time they got inside the 10, the first play was a run. Not once did they give their big bodies a chance in the endzone. Kelly on a fade or slant? Marko got some plays in, but none at the goalline. And where's playaction? That would have been the perfect call on the last 4th down attempt. They really don't do much strong playaction anywhere on the field. But, I guess that would really only be successful if they actually strung together several good runs. It seems that Zorn thinks one good run is the perfect time to go spread formation and pass. How in the world does Portis only get 19 carries against this D?I know a lot of people complain about too many check downs, but they miss a ton of opportunities to get it to a RB wide open in the flat. The RB is rarely anything other than a dump route. Defenses don't really need to pay too much attention them.
So Portis ended up throwing as many catchable passes into the endzone as Campbell.
