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Monday, February 11, 2008

February 11-- I'm not freaking out, I'm just saying...

I still can't believe Jim Zorn ended up the prize behind door number 2, and while I am 100% percent the "give Zorn the benefit of the doubt theory," the end result has left me scratching my head.. I'd like to call this entry, "I'm not freaking out, I'm just saying..."

Jim Zorn has been an offensive coordinator for two weeks during his professional coaching career.
"But Bram, Andy Reid was never a coordinator before he took over the Eagles and he was much fatter. Look what he's done."
Point taken. You found the one example of 8432 hirings over the course of NFL history who made the leap successfully..
I'm not freaking out, I'm just saying..

Jim Zorn has never even been interviewed for a head coaching position. In fact he wasn't interviewed here as a head coach until Thursday, 2 weeks after he was hired in a different capacity.
"But Bram, some guys just Wow you when you open the door to them."
Indeed. But how many times have you talked to someone you knew little about and decided they should just be sent to the White House minus an election?
I'm not freaking out, I'm just saying...

Jim Zorn was not interviewed here to be the head coach.
"But Bram, Just because they didn't interview him for that position doesn't mean they didn't think he'd be capable of the job"
Whatever.
I'm not freaking out, I'm just saying..

Jim Zorn thought the colors of the team were maroon, black and yellow.
"But Bram, give him a break. It was his first press conference. And the colors could easily be confused."
And North Carolina wears turquoise.
I'm not freaking out, I'm just saying..

Jim Zorn praised the Redskins for honoring Sean taylor by starting the Bills game with ten men on the field.
"But Bram, that was an emotional tribute that showed the unity of the locker room after the franchise's darkest hour."
Good point. The guy who was behind it was fired by the team.
I'm not freaking out, I'm just saying.

Jim Zorn said he so much on his plate he didn't think he'd have time to got to Dan Snyder's house for lunch where he would be told he was going to be the team's head coach.
"But Bram, that just shows his dedication. He isn't here to kiss the owner's rear, he's here to work."
He didn't know that was what this meeting was about, otherwise he would have beemed himself there. And well, if my boss calls, I don't blow him off, ever.
I'm not freaking out, I'm just saying.

Jim Zorn was announced as Redskins head coach on Saturday night.
"But Bram, what does it matter when they tell you who the coach is? Don't you think the search went on long enough?"
Yes it did which is why I could have waited until Monday for the press conference. Here's how these things work in the media, we are used as the free advertising wing of sports franchises. A new coach equates to a coronation. The media needs time to be mobilized to help the team make the most of any and all announcements. If a press release is filed on a Saturday night, it has the feeling of being buried to avoid a negative reaction.
I'm not freaking out, I'm just saying..

Jim Zorn is on a staff that has four former and current coordinators on it and yet he got the job.
"But Bram, no one was interviewing Joe Bugel or Greg Blache or Jerry Gray to be a head coach either."
I know. What's your point?
I'm Not freaking out, I'm just saying..

Jim Zorn was deemed a perfect for for the Redskins. Steve Spagnuolo was said to "not be ready to be a head coach." And Gregg Williams was "not the right fit."
"But Bram, you weren't in the interviews with these people. How would you know who's right and who's wrong."
Delusion is one of the more endearing aspects of the sports fan.
I'm not freaking out, I'm just saying..

8 Comments:

Blogger sonnyandsam said...

Hey Bram....

Mariucci was the GB QB coach before leading the 49ers (OK..so he was HC for Cal for one year in between...whoop de doo)

I'm just sayin'

The ravens just hired a former special teams coach as their HC....

I'm just sayin'

John Madden was just a linebackers coach before being named HC...not a shabby record he had...

I'm just sayin'

Mike Martz....was a QB coach for some team....uhh...uhh..Oh yeah...the Redskins (so what if he was a OC for one freakin year before being the Rams HC....You really think one year as OC means THAT much?)

I'm just sayin'

Jack Del Rio only had 4 years of coaching experience (1 as a DC) before becoming a HC....

I'm just sayin'

Just check out lots of the recent new hires and you'll see they had maybe one or two years as a coordinator but less than or the same total coaching experience as Zorn. Does being an OC or DC make THAT big a difference or just more visible to the media and other NFL teams?

Isn't talent, experience and preparation more important than a job title?

I'm just sayin'

4:22 PM  
Blogger Old Analog said...

Bram,
Love your Blog, one of the best reads on the Redskins anywhere . . . but you're freaking out (yes you are). Maybe you know too much about football and are neglecting what you know about people. Look at it this way, Dan Snyder's choices have got progressively better. There are a more examples than Andy Reid. An un-credentialed Gruden succeeded in a dysfunctional franchise. Joe Gibbs and George Allen weren't well known. So hang in there on the Zorn kid. I think its more a matter of whether the organization will give him the time he needs rather than whether he'll be a first-rate head coach. He will be, its obvious. Anyway, I've been meaning to tell you that I never miss your blog, worht reading everyday. But relax on Zorn, he's going to be great.

7:26 PM  
Blogger Alex Chilton said...

..sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" sigmund freud

meaning don't read too much into every little detail.

if you try hard enough, you can see conspiracy in the moon landing.. you're trying pretty hard man.

and now..im just glad it wasn't a re-tread
i do like your blog - this one actually was great... but be cool man.

my bet was that zorn was the back up option. they knew they may not get what they really wanted and he was the fall back option.. which is ok.

hey, the team was in a bad spot here.. unfortunately caused by my hero joe gibbs. i'm sure it was a very tough decision - and one that didn't have any clear winners. that's the way it goes sometime.

7:41 PM  
Blogger Del Greer said...

I -am- freaking out. I'm just saying....

3:32 AM  
Blogger Daniel Moore said...

You're stretching to make a point here, Bram. You don't think the man is qualified. We get it.

But in regards to the 10 men on the field gaffe, how's he supposed to keep track of who's decision it was? In any normal, non-dysfunctional coaching staff, the head coach would have at least known about it ahead of time. Unless he's someone covering the Redskins, or obsesses about the Skins, he's not going to know. It's not exactly common knowledge.

And what does Dan Snyder have to do to get through to the media that he absolutely does not care a flying flip about them? Do you really think that he was worried about how the scheduling of the announcement would look to the outside world? After this long, tiring process, do you honestly think that public relations is any where near the top of his concerns? This wasn't an attempt to "bury the lead", but just Snyder doing things his way.

Zorn has a whole lot to prove, and he will never live down the "maroon and black" comment. Hopefully, he'll turn out to be another one of Holmgren's coaches (Gruden, Dick Jauron, Steve Mariucci , Marty Mornhinweg, Andy Reid and Mike Sherman) that goes on to a successful coaching career.

12:24 PM  
Blogger Bram Weinstein said...

Daniel, appreciate your points.. We'll agree to disagree on some, but Dick Jauron, Mike Sherman and Morty Morningweg are examples of a successful tree? Yikes... And Mariucci was passed over..
I like the feedback though.. Thanks
Ooh yeah, one other thing, if he didn't care what the media or fans thought, then Fassel would have been hired two weeks ago and you know that's the truth ruth..

SonnyandSam, now you and I can spar anytime!

7:42 PM  
Blogger Lee Hernly said...

Hey Bram...

I seem to remember a lot of people freaking out when Joe Gibbs was announced as the new head guy during Gibbs 1.0. Although he had been a coordinator before, lots of people in this town were asking Joe who? And that hire didn't turn out too badly.

I'm just sayin...

3:23 AM  
Blogger Daniel Moore said...

Of those coaches in the Holmgren tree, Jauron is the only real stinker, and he's still a head coach. Marty Mornhinweg has had a successful turn as OC w/ the Eagles, despite failing in Detroit, but really, who's had success in Detroit during the Common Era? Sherman's record in Green Bay sure looks better than anything we've seen in Washington in the last 20 years (4 playoff appearances in 6 years, and a regular season record of 57-39).

I'm hoping that Zorn's success is more on the order of Andy Reid, not Dick Jauron.

11:18 AM  

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