Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn made it pretty clear this week that he was uncomfortable giving up his offensive play-calling duties. Because of that, Zorn nearly relinquished all of his duties, former Seattle Seahawks teammate Steve Largent said Wednesday.
Hall of Fame receiver Steve Largent told KJR AM's Mitch in the Morning Show in Seattle that his close friend considered quitting his job instead of handing play-calling responsibilities to recently hired consultant Sherman Lewis.
'Unsettling' change in D.C.
Redskins players and coaches will spend this week of practice adjusting to a new offensive play-caller after team management relieved coach
Jim Zorn
of those duties.
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"Yes, he did consider it, and no, he did not want to give up those responsibilities. But they went to the point of pulling out his contract and saying, 'You've got to do whatever the owner tells you to do,'" said Largent, who caught passes for Zorn from 1976 to 1984. "And so his choice was to resign or continue on under the current scenario. And Jim's not a quitter, and he said, 'I'm not going to quit on my coaching staff. I'm not to quit on this team. I'm going to do everything in my power to try to pull this out and get us going on the right track.'
"But, you know, in my opinion, and this is just totally my opinion -- Jim has never said this, never implied this -- I think what (Redskins owner) Dan Snyder was trying to do was to force Jim to resign so he was not liable for his contract any longer. And Jim just isn't going to do that. He's not a quitter, and he's not going to give up. And it wouldn't be right for his team and his coaching staff to do that."
The Redskins have struggled mightily while starting 2-4 this season, but Largent believes the team's problems aren't of Zorn's doing and placed blame on Snyder and management.
"I don't know what a Dan Snyder coach looks like, and I don't think Dan Snyder knows what a Dan Snyder coach looks like," Largent said. "And that's fairly obvious now as he has been through about six head coaches in 10 years. ... (Zorn) inherited everything that he has to work with today, and yet all the blame is being laid at his feet because he can't make them Super Bowl champions, which I could have told you two years ago, they don't have a Super Bowl-quality team. So it doesn't matter how good a coach you are, you're not going to get there with the players the owner gives you."
Largent pointed out that even Super Bowl-winning coach Joe Gibbs couldn't succeed under Snyder from 2004 to 2007, going 30-34 in his second stint with the team. Largent also added that Snyder shouldn't even have an office at Redskins Park because the coach should have autonomy to run the team.
"The formula that the Redskin owner and the Redskin general manager have for producing a winner on the field is not a winning formula, meaning that they can't make all the decisions on the coaches and on the personnel and then hire some guy off the street to be the head coach and win with what they put on the field, because it doesn't work," Largent said. "And that has been proven for 10 years in a row. ... So the failure of the Redskins is not about Jim Zorn. The failure of the Redskins starts above him, above his level."
Lewis will call plays for the first time Monday when the Redskins play host to the Philadelphia Eagles, and Largent isn't predicting great results.
"I think it will be humbling and it will be embarrassing, but not for Jim," Largent said. "I think it's humbling and embarrassing for the Redskins and the Redskins owner and Redskins management that made the decision. To think that you can bring a guy in from a retirement center, who is pulling out ping-pong balls in the Bingo games -- and literally, that's what he was doing in Detroit -- bring him down here for two weeks and say, 'You are going to call the plays for the next game against the Philadelphia Eagles, a division opponent, on Monday Night Football,' and think that that's going to be successful, that's a joke. That is really a joke."
The Redskins initially hired Zorn as offensive coordinator in 2008, then quickly promoted him to coach during the same offseason. He has one year remaining on a three-year contract.
Zorn was the Seahawks' quarterbacks coach from 2001 to 2007 after three seasons of holding the same position with the Detroit Lions.
