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Washington coach Jim Zorn got a vote of confidence from the team, but that doesn't relieve much pressure.
Redskins QB Jason Campbell watched the second half of last week's loss from the sidelines after he was benched. |
BY RICH CAMPBELL
ASHBURN
--It seemed like old times when Jim Zorn stepped to the microphone after practice Saturday afternoon. He noticed a reporter wearing a college football jersey and began to banter. The conversation eventually wandered to the neon-green jerseys the Seattle Seahawks wore last month. Zorn voiced his strong disapproval. Everyone laughed, and for a moment Zorn's burden in this disappointing season seemed nonexistent.It was the type of light-hearted moment that couldn't have occurred 48 hours earlier. Until the Redskins said on Friday that Zorn will be their head coach for the rest of the season, tension marred most of his interactions with reporters.
The quirky, outgoing leader who became a media darling during last year's 6-2 start was replaced by a weary persona. The weight of failure was apparent on his face and in his words.
Tonight's game against the Philadelphia Eagles could have been his last, but it won't be unless Vinny Cerrato, executive vice president of football operations, goes back on his word (and what's stopping him?). So Zorn will carry on for the time being, hoping to salvage some positivity amid his deep disappointment about being stripped of play-calling duties and the uncertainty about his long-term future.
"Any time you have some responsibilities taken from you, it has to disappoint you," offensive coordinator Sherman Smith said. "But he has handled it well. He has come in with great energy, given great direction to the team. It's normal. If I said, 'It doesn't bother him at all, man,' you would say, 'Come on, now.' It would disappoint any of us. He's human."
Zorn became a something of a sympathetic character as the Redskins nose-dived during the last month. Job security replaced football as the primary topic of his press conferences, yet he gritted his teeth and answered, sometimes with his teenage son watching from the back of the room.
For weeks, others enjoyed the sanctuary of silence, including Cerrato, owner Daniel Snyder, defensive coordinator Greg Blache and several players. Zorn, however, could not hide. The NFL requires head coaches to face reporters, and he met many tough questions head-on.
And when Zorn grudgingly relinquished his cherished play-calling duties last week after Cerrato "strongly suggested" it (Zorn's words) following another dreadful offensive performance, it magnified the perception that he has been emasculated.
And yet Zorn has tried to summon a fighter's resolve. He despises the idea of listening to Sherm Lewis call plays tonight, but he will press on.
"I need to have composure," Zorn said on Wednesday. "I need to understand what the reality of the situation is. I think our players expect me to rise up. I'm here for them. I've got to make sure I give them what they need. I'm conscious of what's going on. I'm not naive about what's going on. And yet I have to just hold back on any feelings to make the decisions."
Zorn's players have noticed, and they appreciate it.
They have seen the toll that the season, the scrutiny and the speculation have taken on him. Some said this week that they frequently give him a pat on the back or offer a word of support to keep his spirits up and confidence steady.
"There are a lot of other things that go into being a head coach and being a play-caller, and now having that taken away, he is still Z-man," receiver Antwaan Randle El said. "Z-man stands up and says what it is and takes it and moves on and still has the football team. I think that's one of the biggest things you respect about him is he hasn't run away from this thing. He hasn't gone into the corner and cried."
Zorn will face a significant test tonight when the Redskins' offense takes the field for the first time.
For the first 22 games of his tenure, he pulsed with excitement at the chance to "dial up" a play--the expression he frequently used to encapsulate his mentality as the offense's director.
Tonight, though, he'll eavesdrop on Lewis' play-call through a headset. The biggest impact he'll have on the offense will occur in between series on the sidelines.
It's an awkward change that Zorn knows he has to live with.
"I'll be talking to the players," Zorn said. "There's a lot to do, but I'll be attentive to what I have to do. When you're a play-caller, you're concentrating. I'm not going to be chiming in going, 'Oh my gosh,' or, 'Did you really just call that?' or, 'Hey that's a great call.' I'm just going to keep quiet."
Management's decision to strip Zorn of play-calling duties was sold as a means to allow Zorn to concentrate on the broader scope of issues the Redskins face each game. He can focus on clock management and coaching quarterback Jason Campbell without being distracted by a decision about whether to run or pass on first down.
Zorn, though, doesn't buy it and doesn't pretend to. He remains steadfast in his confidence as a play-caller. "I don't look at that as a positive," he said.
Whether he ever will seems moot. He doesn't have a choice.
So he'll spend the next couple of months adjusting to an uncomfortable, reduced role--just in time for questions about his job security to resurface.
"You pray for him and you want to go on and make sure he's doing what he does," secondary coach Jerry Gray said. "I think he has to make sure he keeps this team together because he's still the head coach here, and that's what head coaches do."
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com
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