Rick Snider » Skins fans, stay calm ... for now
By: Rick Snider
Examiner Sports Columnist
September 22, 2009
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| Jim Zorn should not be fired during the season, writes The Examiner’s Rick Snider, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t on the hot seat. (Getty Images) |
Pitch forks and pink slips seem everywhere around Washington. Angry mobs are debating on the airwaves. It's a wonder no one has been burned in effigy.
You'd think this was another presidential election year.
The Washington Redskins won on Sunday and the public still wants change. Fans not only booed bad calls throughout the game, but also while players exited after the 9-7 victory over St. Louis. The team won and fans still booed? Guess they didn't cover the point spread.
What happens if Washington loses to Detroit on Sunday, as the Detroit Free Press and CBS predict? Will coach Jim Zorn have to find his own way home like Dan Turk after blowing a 1999 playoff game at Tampa Bay?
People, calm down. Stay medium, as Z-Man says. Nothing good comes from changing coaches right now. The team is 1-1 with some winnable games ahead, including against a Detroit team that hasn't won since 2007. The Lions make the Nationals seem like pennant contenders.
This game is so bad the announcers will be two guys from YouTube.
Radio pundits are convinced Zorn could be lashed to the mast of the Titanic within days. You need a whine flu shot to listen to sports talk.
However, Zorn's dismissal isn't happening right now and you can thank predecessor Norv Turner for that. Owner Dan Snyder's reputation can't take any more hits, and repeating his 1999 in-season firing of Turner would be the breaking point for fans still hanging in there. Snyder said he learned from that mistake. We'll soon find out.
Snyder has a financial incentive, too. While nemesis Jerry Jones drew 105,000 people to his new Dallas Stadium on Monday, there were 4,000-plus empty seats at FedEx Field for a beautiful opening day. How is Snyder going to keep up with Jones in free-agent bidding if no-shows aren't spending outrageous money on hot dogs and beer?
While many believe Mike Shanahan is coming in January, that isn't a lock. Something feels funny about it, like it's too perfect a scenario. The local stink might seem too much for the former Denver coach. There are lots of reasons why Snyder may be shopping into February once more, though the perfect choice would be former Redskins guard and assistant coach Russ Grimm, especially if he makes the Hall of Fame.
For now, take a breath. If the Redskins lose to the Lions, though, ugly will turn another shade next week.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or
e-mail rsnider@washingtonexaminer.com.
