Zorn Lacks Leadership Skills

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DAN SNYDER must have felt like a genius.

There he was — having picked a no-name assistant with no head-coaching experience to replace Joe Gibbs — sitting on a 6-2 record halfway through the 2008 season.

Owners everywhere must have been asking how they missed out on Jim Zorn, who hadn't even served as an offensive coordinator — the job he was originally tapped for in Washington.

Ten regular-season games and nearly one year later, it makes a lot more sense why Zorn had never been a top assistant, let alone a head coach. Simply put, he doesn't seem to inspire a team.

While I certainly don't have the credentials to evaluate Zorn's offensive schemes, I can tell when players look listless. Sunday's 9-7 victory over the Rams is a perfect example. St. Louis is hardly a formidable foe, yet the Redskins couldn't crack the end zone.

It was the culmination of a long series of mediocre showings by an offense that seemingly hasn't adjusted well to Zorn's system.

Never has an NFL team looked so bland as the Redskins have under Zorn. That's not schemes as much as a team looking flat.

On the positive side, if Snyder goes after Jon Gruden or Mike Shanahan to replace Zorn, they, too, run a West Coast offense.

That will cut down on any transition, and then the Redskins will have a real leader in place.

Photo by John McDonnell/TWP