The Washington Post reports that offensive consultant Sherman Lewis will take over playcalling duties from Redskins head coach Jim Zorn following the team’s 14-6 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday.
Lewis has been out of the league since 2004, but has over 30 years of NFL experience and has worked extensively with the West Coast Offense. The Redskins might not see a complete reversal of fortunate with this change, but H.R. Pufnstuf would be a better playcaller than Zorn.
This change is just one of many indications that Zorn’s time in Washington is quickly coming to an end. The players aren’t stupid – they know when their head coach has been stripped of power and it’s only a matter of time before owner Daniel Snyder makes a wholesale change.
Although defensive coordinator Greg Blache reportedly has no interest in the position, there are one or two candidates on staff to replace Zorn if he is fired midseason. Secondary coach Jerry Gray is probably the most logical choice if Blache doesn’t change his mind.
One advantage of firing Zorn in season is that Snyder could get a jump on talking to Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan and all the other head-coaching candidates that are currently available for 2010.
Campbell was benched and replaced by backup Todd Collins in the second half on Sunday after throwing for just 89 yards on 9-of-16 passing. He also threw an interception right before halftime and missed Santana Moss on what could have been a big gain. To be fair, Moss also dropped a pass that could have produced a big play.
After the game, Washington head coach Jim Zorn said that Campbell “was not comfortable” and that wholesale changes might not be coming at the quarterback position. How Campbell wasn’t comfortable facing a defense as brutal as the Chiefs’ is staggering, but I digress.
Campbell certainly wasn’t good, but he wasn’t bad enough to force Zorn to make a change. Zorn is just clueless and is grasping at straws at this point. His offense is so bad that instead of trying to game plan differently, he makes a half-assed decision to replace his quarterback in the middle of the game and it proved to be unnecessary. He’s not long for Washington and quite frankly, neither is Campbell, who would benefit from a fresh start elsewhere.
According to a report by the Washington Examiner, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder wants Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden to be his next head coach.
Sources close to Snyder say he began considering options to replace coach Jim Zorn after losing to Detroit on Sept. 27; a victory that ended the Lions’ 19-game losing streak. The Redskins loss to Carolina on Sunday was its second in three games to a winless team. It followed a turbulent week when Snyder hired an “offensive consultant” to give Zorn another “fresh set of eyes” on a beleaguered offense.
Snyder has not contacted Gruden, say sources, but he believes the former Oakland-Tampa Bay coach might be the best fit among five Super Bowl winning coaches without jobs. Gruden currently is a Monday Night Football commentator who arrives in Washington for the Redskins-Philadelphia Eagles game on Oct. 26. Snyder and Gruden could meet during routine pregame research for the MNF program.
On the surface, this seems like a great fit. Gruden felt as though the Glazer family didn’t try to compete in Tampa, namely because they didn’t spend. The Buccaneers finished $45 million under the cap last year, which was Gruden’s final season in Tampa.
With Snyder’s free-spending ways and the NFL approaching an uncapped season in 2010, Gruden could construct the roster he wants right from the start. The key would be whether or not he could get the Redskins to play as a cohesive team, which is something Jim Zorn has struggled with.
This will be an interesting storyline to follow this season. That said, don’t be surprised if Snyder goes after some of the other big name head coaches that will be available in the offseason, including Bill Cowher and Mike Shanahan.
When it comes to examining the Washington Redskins, let’s take our foot off Jim Zorn’s neck for a second, shall we?
Since Daniel Snyder purchased the Redskins in May of 1999, they’ve had a winning record only three times in those 10 years (1999, 2005, 2007). In each of those winning seasons, they went to the playoffs but advanced no further than the first round. (And in 2007, they didn’t even make it past the first round.)
During Snyder’s reign as owner in Washington, the Redskins have been aggressive in free agency, inking notable names Bruce Smith, Jeff George, Deion Sanders, Jeremiah Trotter, Jessie Armstead, Randy Thomas, Lavernous Coles, John Hall, Phillip Daniels, Marvin Washington, Shawn Springs, Antwaan Randle El, Adam Archuleta, Andre Carter, London Fletcher, Fred Smoot, Jason Fabini, Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall.
But where has it gotten them?
This past offseason, Snyder made Haynesworth the richest defensive player in NFL history and so far, the Skins have an ugly win against the Rams and a loss to the previously 0-19 Lions to show for it. Granted, it’s still early and Washington can turn things around, but a team doesn’t lose to the Lions without having massive internal bleeding.
Here’s a look at what local NFL beat writers and columnists have to say following their teams’ performance on Sunday.
- Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that the Vikings got their first glimpse of Brett Favre’s legend in Minnesota’s last-second win over San Francisco.
- After 19 straight losses, Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press says that there’s finally relief for the lowly Lions.
- After getting a taste of action in a win over the Chiefs on Sunday, Ashley Fox of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Michael Vick is fine with his role with the Eagles, for now.
- Steve Serby of the New York Post says that Jets’ rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez uses his head to make history.
- Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe notes that the 2-1 Patriots are still a work in progress despite their 26-10 win over the Falcons at Foxboro.
- David Climer of the Tennessean says that the 0-3 Titans buried their playoff hopes with a loss to the Jets on Sunday.
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes that the Redskins’ focused disappeared long ago.
- David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune writes that Johnny Knox and the Bears’ wideouts are making quarterback Jay Cutler look good.
- Will Leitch of the New York Magazine says that the contract extension Eli Manning signed in the offseason might be a bargain with how well he’s playing so far this season.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter via his Twitter page, Redskins head coach Jim Zorn’s job is safe for now. Schefter says that Zorn calls the plays, works well with Jason Campbell and would be too much to replace in the middle of the season.
Zorn’s ability to win in the NFL was already questioned last year after the Skins lost six of their last eight games. But a 1-2 start this season with an ugly home win over the Rams in Week 2 and an embarrassing loss to the Lions on Sunday has put his job on life support.
There’s really no excuse for Washington to be 1-2 when two of the three opponents on their schedule to start the season were the Rams and the Lions. Ironically, the only game in which they looked halfway decent was against the undefeated Giants in Week 1.
The Skins host the 0-3 Bucs in Week 4, travel to Carolina to play the Panthers in Week 5 and then host the Chiefs in Week 6. Those are three winnable games for Washington and if they aren’t at least competitive, one would imagine that Daniel Snyder wouldn’t hesitate to make a midseason move by firing Zorn.
But as Schefter reports, the problem is that Snyder would not only be replacing a head coach, but an offensive play caller as well. Chances are that even if he wanted to replace Zorn, he doesn’t have all the pieces to pull off a move like that right now.
This next three weeks are going to be crucial for Zorn and it’ll be interesting to see if he can save his job.
Thanks to a solid effort by Matthew Stafford (21 of 36, 241 yards, 1 TD) and Kevin Smith (16 carries, 101 yards), the Lions won their first game since December 23 of 2007 with a 19-14 victory over the Redskins on Sunday.
One of the players that will be overlooked in this victory for Detroit is rookie linebacker DeAndre Levy, who started in place of the injured Ernie Sims. Levy made two consecutive tackles on running back Clinton Portis inside the 5-yard-line on third and fourth down to stop the Redskins early in the first half and led the Lions in tackles at halftime. On the day, Levy finished with six tackles and one tackles for loss as Detroit held Washington to only 65 rushing yards. His efforts shouldn’t go overlooked.
Not to take away from the Lions’ big day, but this loss is going to loom large for Washington head coach Jim Zorn. His offense generated 390 total yards, but a week after barely beating the Rams, the Redskins were held out of the end zone by a brutal Detroit defense until early in the third quarter and then failed to score when they got the ball back with just over a minute remaining.
The Lions were eventually going to win again. But you just can’t be that team that losses to Detroit, especially when you’re a Redskins team that was heavily criticized the week before. How can you be 1-2 on the year when two of your first three games are against the Rams and Lions? The players may still believe in Zorn, but he is going to come under major fire over the next week and may not be long for Washington’s head coaching job.
I realize that guys like Albert Haynesworth and London Fletcher were hurt. But what an embarrassing loss for Zorn and the Redskins. How can you only muster 13 points playing against the Lions and after totaling 390 yards? There’s just no excuse and barring a big turnaround, this could be the start of Zorn being ushered out of Washington.
The Washington Redskins have had a go of things since jumping out to a 6-2 start. They thought they would be prepping for the playoffs right now but instead, they’re just clinging onto hope that they can finish the season on a high note. The guys at Bang! Cartoons document the Skins’ collapse in their latest cartoon, as well as having the lowdown on Ed Werder’s new book.
If you like Bang! Cartoons, check out their latest podcast.
Now the larger question: Is Zorn’s Norv-esque finish to a Redskins season bad enough to warrant against bringing him back?
Neither Daniel Snyder nor Vinny Cerrato seemed immediately interested in touching the vote-of-confidence issue after Sunday’s loss, and who can blame them? Even if the owner or executive vice president for football operations sound off in support of the newbie position coach they gambled on last February to replace Joe Gibbs, they give the issue credence and drive the story.
Saying “Jim is our guy” means they had doubt in the first place. And the truth is, they have no intention of looking for another coach after last offseason.
Suppose Zorn wins one of his last two games, or both. How to explain firing a man who installed a new offense, had the machine clicking early in the season and possibly finished with the same record as Joe Gibbs did in 2007 without a single game of head-coaching experience to start the season?
Unless the wheels completely come off and the Redskins look dreadful in their final home game next week against the Eagles and on Dec. 28 at San Francisco, Zorn is probably going nowhere. If he goes 8-8 or 9-7, he finishes with a better record than most observers probably believed possible when he first took over for Gibbs.
He essentially created a monster at 4-1 and 6-2. Because of injuries, mostly better competition and — let’s be honest — his sudden conservative values as a play-caller, Zorn and the Redskins have basically found their level — .500.
I said this in training camp and I’ll say it again: Not giving Zorn at least two years to make this work flies in the face of everything the organization said it wants to be: less impulsive, more patient; about building for a championship future not merely trying to buy it in one offseason.
It’s amazing that this is even a debate considering Zorn looked like a genius when the Redskins started the season 6-2. But he isn’t going anywhere – nor should he. It’s only his first season and given the fact that he installed a completely new offense, he’s done a pretty good job. He’ll learn from the mistakes he’s made over the past couple weeks and become a better head coach. Give the guy a chance.
