Via Dan Steinberg’s DC Sports Bog comes Adam Schefter’s confirmation that secondary coach Jerry Gray appears to be the frontrunner to serve as interim coach if/when Jim Zorn is fired, as previously reported. Offensive line coach Joe Bugel would reportedly be the team’s second choice.
Who Would Replace Zorn As Interim Coach?
Michael Wilbon for one thinks the team should turn to defensive coordinator Greg Blache first, with Jerry Gray as the backup plan.
Regardless of who the Skins eventually tap to replace Zorn (yes, let’s stop pretending; this is a given), the fact remains that Snyder and Cerrato should have taken care of this after yesterday’s loss rather than dragging it out, as both Player Hater’s Ball and Thom Loverro of the Washington Times remind us. From Player Hater’s Ball:
Snyder and Cerrato tried to do something about the situation tonight but, as usual, swung, missed and hit themselves in the crotch with the effort. […] It’s not like Zorn’s playcalling has been so good that it ever made him indispensable. The whole point is that he’s terrible at calling plays. It’s the main reason he should be fired. How is his main flaw being used as a defense of keeping his job? […] Stripping Zorn of his playcalling duties makes him COMPLETELY superfluous. There’s LESS reason to keep him around now. What’s he going to work on all day now, timeout management? What changes now? Why does this make the team better? Firing Zorn makes the team better because it will light a fire under apathetic players and disinterested fans. Keeping Zorn around as a sort of lameduck coach accomplishes what, exactly?
Thom Loverro meanwhile points out that by keeping Zorn for at least another week, the Skins just keep themselves in the headlines, as people speculate on Zorn’s future:
The uproar won’t be diverted by this playcalling shift. The focus will remain on whether Zorn can survive yet another game as the Redskins’ coach – particularly when the man who is most rumored to be his replacement next season, former Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden, will be in town and in the booth Monday night for the game. […] This is why owner Dan Snyder should have instead just made the inevitable move. You fire Zorn and go into Monday night with an interim coach, then the Washington Redskins are nothing more than a bad football team.
At least Snyder is better than Al Davis, right? Right?
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