Redskins Hire Jim Zorn: What's Up With That?

Welcome back to Touchdowns and Kicks with Jimmy G on the team990.com

Today we’ll deal with Jim Zorn and the Washington Redskins.

Okay, where do we start with this?

Joe Gibbs retired a few days after the Skins lost a playoff game to Seattle. Not unexpected, since Gibbs was 67 years old and heading into the last season of the 5 year contract signed in January 2004. Gibbs was either quitting or signing an extension. No middle ground. He quit.

So a replacement was needed for the three time Super Bowl winning Gibbs.

Who did Redskins owner Daniel Snyder look to?

The assistant coaches on his staff were first.

Al Saunders. Nope. Too bad for Saunders, because when Dick Vermeil quit the Chiefs after the 2005 season, Saunders wasn’t considered for that job either. Even though Saunders was the top in house candidate.

Gregg Williams, the in house favourite on the Skins staff. The players wanted him, they made that very clear.

Snyder met with Williams THREE times over the course of one week. Each session lasted over FOUR hours.

Nope. Williams didn’t get the job either. Not only that, but Williams ended up getting fired as defensive coordinator, even though no new head coach had been hired.

Question for Daniel Snyder: If Williams was on your payroll for four years and you are a hands on owner, why did you (a)need all those hours to figure out whether Williams was head coaching material and (b)after figuring out he wasn’t, fire him as defensive coordinator.

Next up was Jim Caldwell of the Indianapolis Colts: Caldwell wasn’t interested because he figured (maybe incorrectly?) that Tony Dungy would quit after the 2008 season. It’s true that Caldwell will replace Dungy eventually (that much is official) but for Jim’s sake I hope Peyton Manning will still be in his prime when that happens.

Next up was Jim Mora Jr., defensive backs coach with Seattle, former head coach with Atlanta. What happened with Jim Jr.? The same as with Caldwell. Mora Jr decided to stay with Seattle where an agreement was made that he would replace current head coach Mike Holmgren after the 2008 season.

After Mora Jr. came Jim Fassel. The former Giants head coach met with Snyder a few times but was rejected. Not good for Fassel or his future prospects. Fassel has waited for another head coaching opportunity since he was fired by the Giants after going 4-12 in 2003. You’d figure that three playoff appearances in seven seasons in New York would be enough to at least get Fassel another chance somewhere. Anywhere. Apparently not.

Instead Fassel went to the Ravens as offensive coordinator for his good friend Brian Billick. That didn’t work out very well: Billick fired Fassel three weeks into the 2006 season, after which the Ravens went on a winning streak. That didn’t do much for Fassel’s value in the head coaching market.

Fassel was out. Snyder then met with former Lions and 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci. Nope. That didn’t work out either.

I thought that Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnulo, coming off a Super Bowl win, would get the job. One would figure the delay in hiring a head coach was because Snyder was not allowed to communicate with Steve Spagnulo until after the Super Bowl.

But Steve Spagnulo did not want the job. That was a waste of time for Daniel Snyder. I hope that Spagnulo knows what he is doing.

Remember Gregg Williams, who we just spoke about? After the 2005 season, in which the Redskins led the NFL in defense, Williams was on the short list for a couple of head coaching jobs, namely Saint Louis and Detroit. Williams was an extremely hot candidate. Williams refused these job offers, however, because he wanted to remain an assistant for a little while longer. Williams, like Spagnulo, also got a nice raise to stay put.

How’d that work out for Williams? Go back and read the first few paragraphs.

The lesson for Spagnulo should be clear: sometimes you only get one chance at being a head coach. And if you refuse that first chance, you may never get another. I know Gregg Williams was a head coach with the Bills 2001-03 so the comparison to Spagnulo is not entirely fair, but you get the idea.

Finally, we get to Jim Zorn. Anyone else notice that Synder interviewed Jim Caldwell, Jim Fassel and Jim Mora Jr., then Jim Zorn. What is with all the Jim’s on the list?

I’m not complaining of course. They share my name. That’s a good thing. I think.

Jim Zorn had never been an offensive coordinator. Quarterbacks coach, yes. But never a coordinator. Zorn had never enjoyed play calling responsibilities, until he was hired two weeks ago as Redskins offensive coordinator to replace the fired Al Saunders.

Then two weeks later Daniel Snyder decided that Jim Zorn wouldn’t be the new offensive coordinator after all, but, oh what the hell, Zorn would be the head coach instead.

Contract details: 5 years, average salary reported to be between 4 to 4.5 million per season.

Should never having been a coordinator be a disqualifying factor in choosing a head coach?

I am not sure. Recent history is quite vague on the subject.

Andy Reid was just a quarterbacks coach with Green Bay before Philly hired him in 1999. That worked out quite well by any reasonable standard.

Rod Marinelli was merely a defensive line coach with Tampa Bay before being tapped by Matt Millen and Detroit in 2006. Jury is still out on that one, thumbs pointing down.

Mike Tomlin was merely a defensive backs coach with Minnesota before being hired as head coach of the Steelers. Good rookie season, but we’ll wait a while to pass judgment, thumbs pointing up.

Point being: no guarantees exist when hiring a first time head coach who has never had play calling responsibilities on defense or offense.

Let me make a few points about the Washington Redskins and Daniel Snyder.

A. If Gregg Williams wasn’t going to replace Joe Gibbs, did Snyder need THREE four hour sessions to come to that conclusion?
B. If Jim Zorn was head coaching material, why did Snyder keep interviewing candidates after hiring Zorn to be offensive coordinator?
C. Couldn’t Snyder have seen Zorn’s head coaching potential earlier? If this potential existed, and hopefully for the Skins, it does, then Snyder should have seen it.
D. 5 year contract at 4 to 4.5 million dollars a year? For a first time head coach? Should this happen?

Let’s take a look at what other first time coaches earned on their original contracts.

Mike McCarthy 3 years at 2 million per year (since renegotiated)
Lovie Smith 4 years at 1.4 million per year (since renegotiated)
Mike Nolan 5 years at 2 million per year (since renegotiated)
Brad Childress 5 years at 2.2 million per year
Jack Del Rio 5 years at 1.3 million per year (since renegotiated)
Rod Marinelli 4 years at 2 million per year

True all these contracts were signed between 2004 and 2006, and inflation has to be taken into account for any contract signed in 2008.

But facts are facts. Jim Zorn will be earning almost TWICE as much as other recent first time coaches.

What kind of bargaining power did Jim Zorn have on Daniel Snyder? He was hired as an offensive coordinator and he was on no ones radar screen as potential head coaching material.

I am positive that Jim Zorn would have accepted an offer for half the amount he eventually put his name to.

I am also positive that Daniel Snyder signed off on the amount to overcompensate. It's as if Snyder was saying:

“Look Redskins fans, this guy is going to be such a good coach that we have to pay the going rate for him. I waited the entire month of January and part of February interviewing candidates one after another just to get to this one great coach. Damn right I will pay him twice as much as similar first time coaches”

Seems to me that Daniel Snyder is trying to convince himself, not the media and fans, that Zorn is the right man at the right time.

Good luck to Jim Zorn and the Skins. Joe Gibbs is a hard act to follow.

My hunch is that this will not work out very well. Aside from 2 playoff appearances with Joe Gibbs, it rarely has for the Redskins under Daniel Snyder.

But I am more willing to agree that Jim Zorn should be given an opportunity to show the NFL that he’s got the right stuff.

That’s it for me this week. I’ll be back next Monday with more NFL thoughts and analysis.

Jimmy Garoufalis