I think Jim Zorn is a great head football coach.

[53Fan]

I think you'll get your wish skinsnut. He has about 3 times the amount of offensive plays installed this year as he did last year.

[wilsowilso]

Originally Posted by skinsfan_nn

Yea....I guess you can't other than the thread title.

I think Jim Zorn is a great head football coach, but plenty of Redskin fans and people all across the land don't know it yet.

Would that be better for you?

[Skins Fan in Indiana]

Zorn is a up and coming coach, with alot of room for improvement. If he can stay in town for a few years, we will then have our answer if he is a good or great coach.

You measure greatness by how many rings you have won.

Get some rings Coach!

[stu_nna]

Originally Posted by skinsnut

I am hopefull too.
I will wait another season, but my primary concern with the guy was his inability to adjust play calling mid season when it was clearly evident that defensive coordinators figured him out.
I think some of this was due to him only installing a base package....hopefully he has a full slate of plays that is installed that includes some misdirection rather than the basic gibbs run scheme + basic west coast passing.

What is really needed are reverses, shotgun, draws, WR quick screens, etc to spread the secondary out as to not crowd the box.

Most of our offense last year did not suprise anyone...especially after the first couple months...remember, we went 2-6 after an almost sure playoff level start of 6-2. That to me aint great coaching.

The good thing is any improvement in playcalling should show dramatic improvement in offensive production.
If Zorn is depending on the Skins offense to score due to having more talent and more execution alone, we will be in for a long season.
The reality is he needs to scheme better and make better play calling adjustments before I call him a great coach.

The jury is still out on Zorn

I wish him all the best, our dreams depend on him being better than last year

Not sure i agree with some of your points on Zorn. Frontline injuries and bad pass protection limit play calling ability. Reverses and fakes are gimmiks only to be pulled out once in awhile. Last year we had screens, slants, and alot of WR's catching the ball at the line of scrimmage. His play calling has alot to do with the pocket collasping and not being able to throw the ball deep. Couple that with the fact that JC has a slow release and takes long strides makes it tough to call long yardage pass plays.

[SirClintonPortis]

He seems to be following Walsh in that he is rather involved with his QBs and stressing mechanics from them. He's a straight shooter as well, so he definitely can earn, and likely has earned, the trust of his players.

[Ijaeger]

Zorn = 8:8 1st season
Gibbs= 8:8 1st season
...only time will tell

[NYCskinfan82]

Zorn gives of this vibe that makes you beleive oh we gone but good, he's delegating responsibility better this year & all the coaches are on the same page.

[redskin37]

I would love to see Jim Zorn with us for a long time . I just hope he gets the chance if this is not a playoff year.

[BleedBurgundy]

well, it's the preseason, it's the time for unbridled and potentially unreasoned optimism. I hope you're right. I will say that he seems like a good guy, how that relates in terms of wins and losses though...that's what's important. Belichick is a complete and utter asshat, but the dude just wins.

[Chico23231]

If he goes 8-8 or worse again he will not be a NFL head coach fo sho....nothing wrong wrong with being optomistic, but lets make the playoffs once first b4 predicting greatness.

[44Deezel]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

Joe Gibbs 1 was a great football coach. Bill Walsh was a great football coach. Bill Belichick is a great football coach. Jim Zorn is not a great football coach, he may not even be a good offensive coordinator. The jury is still out.

Seriously. I don't care how bad the O line was, 12 points a game over the last 8 is putrid. How can anyone see signs of greatness in last year's performance?

Reasons he may not even be a good offensive coordinator:

1) Couldn't get production out of the rooks when other teams were doing it all over the league. If the Eagles could get almost 1000 yards from that knucklehead Desean Jackson, Zorn should have been able to get more out of Davis, Kelly and Thomas. Don't tell me they can't read playbooks. They read playbooks well enough to be high draft picks in the NFL. Simplify if need be, and get the guys to produce on the field.

2) The running game - 342 carries for a guy who's best run went for 31 yards? The best running teams use multiple weapons out of the backfield. We had good enough talent, but Zorn chose to run Portis into the ground instead of developing weapons out of the other guys.

3) Passing game - weak and uncreative. Like someone else said, where were the no huddle plays? The trick plays? The roll-outs to give Campbell more time to throw? Teams like the Chargers and Dolphins regularly threw to their running backs for huge gains. Our RBs were non-existent in the passing game, making it all that much easier to defend the offense.

4) Mike Sellers on the goal-line. I don't care what he says, Zorn gave those carries to Sellers, because he was miffed with Portis. He let his personal feelings get the better of him. Not what great coaches do.

5) Nobody else wanted him even as an offensive coordinator. Are we supposed to think the FO knows something the rest of the league doesn't? Why? Because of their stellar track record?

I am one who thinks the 6-2 start last year was more of a fluke than an indication of what Zorn can do on a long term basis with a healthy team. I believe other teams figured him out once there was enough film to be studied and he was unable to adjust. There were some first year coaches that did show signs of greatness last year (Harbaugh, Sparano, Smith). Unfortunately, Zorn wasn't one of them (In my opinion).

But I hope you guys are right. I'd gladly eat crow over this one.

[44Deezel]

Originally Posted by 53Fan

COULD BE skinsfan69. As you said, the jury is still out but I do think Zorn could become a great coach. I have no more respect for anyone than Joe Gibbs, but Gibbs didn't start out too great either. Gibbs wasn't judged a great coach in his first year either, but he sure turned out to be one. I never said he would be Joe Gibbs, I said he could be the best SINCE Gibbs.

At least Gibbs was a very good offensive coordinator in San Diego before joining the Skins and even though he started out 0-5, he was able to right the ship enough to finish the season 7-9. THAT was a sign of potential greatness to come. Starting 6-2 and ending 2-6 gives the exact opposite impression. But we'll see soon enough.

[SmootSmack]

I'm pretty confident that Zorn will be a very good coach for us. But it's pretty crazy that he's just starting his head coaching career, while Dungy just retired after nearly 15 years as a head coach. And Zorn is two years older.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by 53Fan

COULD BE skinsfan69. As you said, the jury is still out but I do think Zorn could become a great coach. I have no more respect for anyone than Joe Gibbs, but Gibbs didn't start out too great either. Gibbs wasn't judged a great coach in his first year either, but he sure turned out to be one. I never said he would be Joe Gibbs, I said he could be the best SINCE Gibbs.

i hear you. but zorn needs to improve in a lot of areas and one is stop being so blunt and calling guys out in the media. i don't know...i just don't see the guy as a leader of men and that's one trait a hc must have. i don't think he commands respect like some other coaches do. we'll see.

[44Deezel]

Originally Posted by stu_nna

Not sure i agree with some of your points on Zorn. Frontline injuries and bad pass protection limit play calling ability. Reverses and fakes are gimmiks only to be pulled out once in awhile. Last year we had screens, slants, and alot of WR's catching the ball at the line of scrimmage. His play calling has alot to do with the pocket collasping and not being able to throw the ball deep. Couple that with the fact that JC has a slow release and takes long strides makes it tough to call long yardage pass plays.

I think that's the point. Every friggin team is bruised and battered down the stretch, but good coaching can overcome those obstacles. He was clearly unable to adjust to the injuries and the record reflected that.

There are going to be more injuries this year, so I hope he's got some contingency plans ready.