Here’s a shock: Daniel Snyder might be ready to throw a ton of money at an unrestricted free agent.

According to sports talk show host Lance Zierlein of 1560AM in Houston, the Redskins are “charging hard after” Julius Peppers. Zierlein writes that today’s “bloodbath” in which the Redskins released 10 players will help pave the way for the team to sign Peppers by tomorrow.

Zierlein brings up a good point that Washington took similar steps last year, right before signing DT Albert Haynesworth to a mega-multi million deal. Although I don’t know how Zierlein would have inside information on the Redskins seeing as how he works in Houston, nobody will be surprised if Snyder signs the biggest free agent of the offseason. (And for that matter, nobody would be surprised if Peppers signed with whatever team offered him the most money.)

12:15AM ET Update: Zierlein writes on his Twitter page that the Bears aren’t going to let Peppers get away from them.

Black Monday was kicked off in the NFL with the firing of Jim Zorn, which surprised absolutely no one.

From the Washington Post:

“The status quo is not acceptable,” General Manager Bruce Allen said in a statement. “I felt it was necessary to not waste a moment of time to begin building this team into a winner.”

The Redskins may swiftly announce his replacement, possibly within hours. In December, Washington forced out longtime front office executive Vinny Cerrato and announced the hiring of new general manager Bruce Allen within two hours, putting in motion the overhaul of the franchise’s infrastructure after a 10-year period that featured just two playoff appearances.

Former Denver and Oakland coach Mike Shanahan, who won two Super Bowls with Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway and the Broncos, has been the presumed hire for weeks. Several NFL sources have said over the past month that they believe Shanahan has long been the choice of Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder, who now must hire his seventh head coach since he took control of the team in 1999.

Zorn wasn’t given much of an opportunity to succeed from the very beginning. He was hired by Daniel Snyder to become the Redskins’ offensive coordinator and then thrust into the head coaching position after Snyder couldn’t find a candidate he liked. Zorn was overmatched from the beginning and despite getting the Redskins off to a good start in 2008 his inexperience eventually did him in.

After losing his offensive playcalling duties earlier this season in Washington, I doubt he’ll land a gig as a coordinator right away but you never know. Even though he was fired, I imagine part of him has to be thrilled that he’s leaving that mess behind.

We’ll see if the Redskins move quickly on Shanahan. I suspect they will.

According to a report by Redskins.com, Washington general manager Vinny Cerrato said that Jim Zorn would remain the head coach throughout the rest of the season.

“Let me start by making a few things very perfectly clear,” he said. “Jim Zorn is the head coach of the Washington Redskins and will for the rest of this season, and hopefully into the future.”

Zorn isn’t going to be the Redskins’ head coach in 2010. There’s just no way. It’s difficult to replace a head coach in the middle of the season, so it makes sense that the team would endorse Zorn for the rest of the year. If he has a lucky charm up his ass and magically turns the Skins around, then Cerrato and Daniel Snyder can re-asses the situation at the end of the season. But the more likely scenario is that Snyder already has a list of coaches that he wants in 2010 and is planning on speaking to them after the season.

You can’t lose to three previously winless teams and hang onto your job at the end of the year. (Especially when one of those previously winless teams was the 0-19 Detroit Lions.)

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.