Well, here's a shocker. Former Seahawks quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn, who was hired by the Redskins on January 25th as their new offensive coordinator, has been promoted from within ... to the position of head coach. The Redskins talked to many candidates, including Jim Fassel, Steve Mariucci, and Indy defensive coordinator Ron Meeks. One suspects that if Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo hadn't decided to re-up with Big Blue, he might have the Redskins job right now. But it's Zorn, the first quarterback in Seahawks history, the 1976 NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year, a member of the team's Ring of Honor, and perhaps the one person besides Mike Holmgren who can claim real credit for Matt Hasselbeck's development, who will take the job.
After the Seahawks hired former Washington quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor to replace Zorn last Wednesday, I had a back-and-forth [1] with Will Allensworth of the Hogs Haven blog for a piece I wrote for Seahawks.NET. We talked about both coaches, and I explained why I thought Zorn was an excellent candidate for the offensive coordinator position.
As for Zorn, the first word that comes to mind is "integrity". Integrity in his personal life, in his methodology, in everything he does. This is a guy who's in Seattle's Ring of Honor as a quarterback, had some great NFL seasons, won the 1976 NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and he spent 1988 through 1996 as a quarterback coach/offensive assistant for three colleges. There are no airs about him. He has no entitlement issues - in fact he liked to ride his bicycle from home to practice in his second go-round with the Seahawks. He's got a lot of knowledge and he's not content to sit back and do things the traditional way. His QB drills have consisted of dodgeball (footwork and agility), Slip-and-Slides (QB slides, not to mention fodder for Kenny Mayne), and having his players throw footballs into small nets yards away (accuracy, competitiveness). But everything has a purpose, and he's a guy who will pore over all the film it is possible to watch in order to make Campbell the best quarterback he can be. It says a lot that someone as anal retentive about and possessive of his quarterbacks as Mike Holmgren trusted Zorn as he did.
In the larger scheme issue, Seattle has run a modified version of the West Coast offense through Holmgren's tenure. It wasn't a pass-wacky gameplan until the second half of this last season, when the running game fell apart and the Seahawks had to rely on Hasselbeck to get to the playoffs. I would liken it to the Elway-Davis Broncos of the late 1990s, very balanced, with a little more passing to the backs thrown in (he likes to do it more than he has because Alexander was a better runner than he was a receiver when he was elite). Zorn's a really good fit with a system that features versatile backs and less-than-elite receivers (that's not a slam on Moss and Randle El; Hasselbeck hasn't had any "A-guys" through the Seahawks' recent great seasons) in an integrated offense. The offense he has seen since 2001 features a lot of inside slants, skinny posts, quick outs -- quick passes designed to get YAC. Not sure how that jibes with the Saunders offense, but Holmgren teaches an offense that is ruthlessly efficient when it's on, and still pretty effective when it's having a collective bad day. More options than a defense can cover is the general idea.
I think it's a great fit, Zorn's a guy who's primed and ready for this promotion, and the Redskins will benefit from his presence.
Again, that was about the offensive coordinator position. I think that Jim Zorn will be an excellent head coach someday -- or, to rephrase that, I have no reason to believe that he won't be an excellent head coach someday. Now, for Zorn, the real challenges begin. How is his temperament? Can he manage personalities? Will he run into trouble because popular assistants like Gregg Williams were run out of town instead of being given the job? Will this be a successful example of the trend toward younger and/or less-experienced coaches combined with a greater presence from the front office?
In any case, Zorn has signed a five-year contract worth approximately $15 million. "I've always dreamed of being a head coach with a franchise rich in tradition like the Redskins," Zorn said in a statement. "As a player who had to fight Redskins teams at RFK as well as at our home field, I know about the history of this franchise as well as the passion of its fans. I won't let you down."
Links:
[1] http://www.hogshaven.com/story/2008/2/9/13146/82895