Maybe the Washington Redskins shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss coach Jim Zorn at season’s end.
The true value of a coach is leadership. Oh, he needs to be a motivator, consensus builder, talent evaluator, good listener — everything any good boss should be — but there’s more to football than Xs and Os.
The bottom line on head coaches is motivating millionaires to work hard. The hardest part of all is getting a 2-6 team to finish the season in style.
Washington is finishing the waning weeks of a wasted season in style. Maybe they’re not winning, but the Redskins are entertaining. The 33-30 overtime loss to undefeated New Orleans on Sunday was the season’s best game. No way Washington should have won a shootout against the NFL’s best team, but only the bad karma that continues to dog the franchise prevented a Redskins victory.
Go ahead and credit Sherman Lewis for an improved offense, especially with more spare parts than a Cash for Clunkers junkyard. We know Zorn’s playcalling wasn’t good enough.
But Lewis doesn’t deal with the players. That’s still Zorn’s job. And the locker room still cares. Still fights. Still hurts after losses. That’s why Zorn may still deserve a second chance for a third season.
Here’s the postseason plan: If the Redskins can’t get a proven big-name coach, then Zorn should be Plan B.
It’s not strange for the Redskins to court Zorn’s replacement while the latter is still employed. They’ve been doing it for the past month. Mike Shanahan is the primary target, but several other teams are also pursuing the two-time Super Bowl winner. If the Redskins can’t get Shanahan, then they’re into Plan B. And Plan B is essentially Nowheresville, population 0, just like last time when they ended up with Zorn.
Bill Cowher’s not coming. Mike Holmgren’s not coming. In fact, no one unemployed donning a Super Bowl ring is coming to Washington. There are too many better options than a dysfunctional franchise with an overbearing owner.
If Shanahan agrees to coach the Skins, and it shouldn’t take more than a few days after the season to know, then give Zorn his severance and welcome the one-time Broncos boss. So what if Zorn dangles? Marty Schottenheimer waited two weeks before being axed in 2002.
But if Shanahan doesn’t come, keep Zorn and hire another West Coast offensive guru as the playcaller. Zorn’s quirky ways aren’t considered old school, but he has shown he can lead a locker room.
The big downside is fan reaction. The Burgundy Revolution wants change. So, give them a new personnel man over Vinny Cerrato. Create a new emphasis for the front office to chase steady players over starpower.
Zorn doesn’t need to be the scapegoat. Not automatically.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
