Will the Redskins ever win under Snyder?

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.

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Zorn to keep his job for now

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.

Lions finally win as hot seat gets hotter for Zorn

Lion fans, you’re suffering is finally over.

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.

Will the Redskins part with Jim Zorn following their second half collapse?

Mike Wise of The Washington Post questions whether or not Jim Zorn will retain his job following the Redskins’ collapse over the second half of the season.

Jim ZornNow 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.

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