Head coach’s uncharacteristic outbursts last week strayed from ‘medium’ demeanor, but he’s working on that
The sights and sounds embarrassed him. There’s an image Jim Zorn wants to portray. It does not include this: throwing his fist after minor misdeeds; dropping curse words in front of his kid, or anyone else for that matter; and having his assistant in the coaches’ booth remove his headset because Zorn was screaming too loudly.
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So Zorn set about doing what he’s done since being hired as the Redskins head coach. He identified the issue; he tried to learn from whatever went wrong. And, in last week’s loss to the New York Giants, one thing that went wrong was Zorn’s demeanor.
He’s a fiery, competitive coach — a phrase he’ll use often. But Zorn wants to make sure he holds it together better than how he did last week, starting with today’s game in Baltimore.
As the games get more tense, the head coach must control his emotions. Zorn knows this.
“I can be fiery and competitive,” Zorn said, “but I’d rather encourage in that sense and not whine. I think I was whining. It was trivial things that make me think … how frustrating that must be to another person to get attacked for trying to do his job for no particular reason except that he happened to be the next guy in my way.”
Zorn was annoyed by a handful of things, even with how wet — or waterlogged — some balls were that were being used. But he was most upset by a missed opportunity in the passing game, when quarterback Jason Campbell did not look at receiver Antwaan Randle El on one route when he had his man beat; and when the Redskins extra-point team did not rush harder on the Giants’ first attempt. The hold was botched, but with no pressure the Giants had time to still make the kick. However, Zorn said he would always get mad about something like this because it was simply a matter of effort.
Zorn has been demonstrative on the sidelines all season, even during the four-game winning streak. But last week he did something unusual: he cursed. Because his 13-year-old son, Isaac, heard it he must pay him a dollar based on an agreement they had.
“He’s not very wealthy,” Zorn said. “It’s not what I want to portray.”
Some of his assistants, notably offensive coordinator Sherman Smith, told him after the game that his outbursts were different in this game.
“They said, ‘What were you doing?’” Zorn said. “[On the headsets one time] I’m going, ‘Hey Sherman! Sherman!’ I could heard him fiddling with the headset and I said what was that? He said, ‘I had to take the headset off.’ I said why. He said, ‘You were screaming; I couldn’t listen to you anymore. I could listen with the headset on the table.’”
Zorn even apologized to his coaches during a regularly scheduled meeting Monday. He likes to talk about staying medium, which can be separate from showing emotion.
“I heard about [the outbursts], but I didn’t see it,” defensive coordinator Greg Blache said. “I had my own problems. … But he is a very medium guy.”
Said Zorn, “As far as this being noteworthy, it’s very small. I’m just trying to grow as a man. … If I’m willing to listen and willing to be approachable, I think I’ll grow.”
