ESPN.com (via the Denver Post) reports that the Redskins have begun discussions with Mike Shanahan about their head coaching position, despite the fact that Jim Zorn still occupies it.

The Redskins on Thursday hired Bruce Allen, son of late Redskins Hall of Fame coach George Allen, after Vinny Cerrato abruptly resigned.
Allen maintained Jim Zorn was still the Redskins’ coach.

“Give us some time to see how our relationship develops,” Allen said.

Zorn’s job status is believed to be tenuous, with the Redskins’ record at 4-9 and three games to play.

Zorn’s tenure in Washington has been bizarre from the start. In January of 2008, he was hired to be the team’s new offensive coordinator. But in February, Snyder decided to make him the new head coach despite the fact that Zorn had never even been a coordinator in the league.

Now, just two years after he was hired, he has to endure a situation in which his job is being filled while he still has it. He’s a better man than I, because if I knew I was going to be replaced at the end of the year, I’d be flipping Snyder the bird as I walked out the door. But I’m sure Zorn feels that he has a responsibility to his team and if so, he deserves credit for sticking around.

Zorn wasn’t ready to become a head coach when he was hired, but he deserves a shot to be an offensive coordinator someplace else. Hopefully other teams are monitoring his situation in Washington and will give him an opportunity to gain experience as an assistant.

In his latest column for FanHouse, Jay Mariotti rips Cowboy owner Jerry Jones for the current, dysfunctional state that his franchise is in.

In the sense that America is one messed-up country, I suppose the Dallas Cowboys still can be called “America’s Team.” That’s because they are indisputably the most chaotic, mismanaged, undisciplined sports franchise that we have the displeasure to follow. Down yonder, Jerry Jones keeps gushing about his new stadium, the Romo Domo, which makes the Taj Mahal sound like a slum and Wembley like a sandlot.

It’s an indictment of Jones’ constant meddling and counterproductive buffoonery that Parcells, the BFMIA, would thrive again after fleeing Dallas. If the Cowboys were at least a respectable playoff qualifier with Parcells as head coach, they’ve become a faction-torn, emotionally-frayed circus since Jones summoned an overmatched Wade Phillips. A shrink will have to explain why Jones would be so foolhardy to bring in the criminally-troubled likes of Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson, embrace the petulance of Terrell Owens, let Tony Romo become a Hollywood boy toy — and still employ the tamest, softest and most incompetent coach possible in Phillips.

Just what are you doing, Jerry Jones? And why don’t you get out of the way, step aside as general manager, stay upstairs like most owners and hire a real football man to run the program? Can’t you hear the disgust from media and fans? Is this any way to open a new stadium, by simply nodding and keeping Phillips and trying to spin rampant criticism as the byproduct of a high-profile franchise?

Where do we start? Owens, who sabotages locker rooms like a staph infection, moped about Romo and how the QB favored his close friend, tight end Jason Witten, as his favorite receiver. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, once a hot coaching candidate in the league, couldn’t control the politics and was suspected by Owens of leaking negative stories about him. Then there was Romo, who was said to have shaky practice habits that went unaddressed by Garrett, causing players to reportedly lose respect for Garrett. Clearly, Romo became a reckless performer who winged too many throws in traffic and needed to be harnessed.

Mariotti goes into much more detail so if you have three hours, make sure you read the entire piece.

Mariotti hits the nail on the head over, and over, and over again. While Jones is running a talented circus in Dallas, it’s a circus nonetheless. It appears that everything is finally bubbling to the service now, too, which paints an ugly picture for Jones and his Cowboys, but one that can also be rectified with a solid offseason complete with sound decisions.

Jones needs to reach out to Mike Shanahan. If the former Denver head coach is interested, Jones should allow Mike to run the team the way he wants to and then Jerry needs to get the hell out of the way. If Shanahan wants T.O. out, then T.O. should be in another uniform next year. If Shanahan wants new coordinators, then he should get new coordinators. The situation in Dallas is a mess and Jones needs a good football man to change around the culture in a hurry.

The owner doesn’t mind writing big checks. He should write his next one to Mike Shanahan.

According to ESPN.com’s John Clayton, former Denver Broncos’ head coach Mike Shanahan is unlikely to coach before the 2010 season.

Broncos owner Pat Bowlen admitted he didn’t have a plan yet to replace Mike Shanahan as head coach, and it sure looks as though Shanahan isn’t going to find the right opportunity to keep him in coaching this season. Bowlen appeared a little lost as to the direction of the coaching search during his version of the news conference Wednesday. During his talk, he said all of Shanahan’s coaches were being let go. Later, it was revealed that he misspoke and offensive coaches such as coordinator Jeremy Bates are staying for now. Shanahan was blindsided by his firing. And unless the Jets decide to throw his name into their search, the Lions and Chiefs don’t look like teams ready for his plans to get to the Super Bowl. Shanahan will coach but it most likely will be in 2010 or later.

Coaching class: If Mike Shanahan does indeed sit for a season, it sets up a remarkable store of head coaching candidates for 2010. Mike Holmgren, Bill Cowher and Shanahan should all be available. A team looking for a head coach can’t lose if they get the guy whom they considered the third best from that list.

Well this puts a major crimp in my massive plan to get Shanahan in a Detroit Lions jumpsuit next year, now doesn’t it?