Posts tagged Jim Fassel at FanHouse

Four days later and Jim Zorn is still head coach of the Washington Redskins. Since owner Dan Snyder announced the hire on Saturday night, we've had Zorn express his love for the maroon and black, a rejected Jim Fassel blame his bad fortune on the Ravens and bloggers (although he loves Snyder -- see above), and the realization that quarterback Jason Campbell will be learning his seventh offense in eight years.

Whatever, I'll admit the Zorn hire was out of nowhere, but after getting over the initial shock of it all, most of the reviews have been glowing. But the Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg unearths a few less-than-rosy takes on the new Redskins coach. The San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami gets the ball rolling calling Zorn the "worst hire ever. Worse than Art Shell..."

Zorn had never been a coordinator until Snyder plucked him from the QB-coaching ranks to be the Redskins' coordinator a few weeks ago.

Worse: Nobody in the NFL had ever thought that Zorn should be considered as a coordinator–a coordinator!–until Snyder and his pal Vinny Cerrato came up with that idea....

So why didn't Jim Fassel, who had long been labeled the front runner, get the Washington Redskins head-coaching job? According to Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post's DC Sports Bog, he blamed bloggers in a radio interview today:

Because you've got bloggers, and they're saying, 'No, this isn't the right guy, and that ain't the right guy,' and you can't hold the lead, because you are going to take the hit. I mean, when you're the lead dog, you're going to take the hit. And I think the longer it went, the longer it went, the longer it went....

Unlike the bloggers Steinberg mentions -- Mister Irrelevant, Unsilent Majority, Hogs Haven, and the Curly R -- I like Fassel, think he was an above-average coach with the Giants and would like to see him get another head-coaching job. But if Fassel is saying he didn't get the Redskins job because Redskins owner Dan Snyder didn't want to anger Redskins bloggers, what he's really saying is that Snyder is an idiot. And no matter what Fassel is saying, if he has the problem with the way the Redskins' coaching search was handled, his real problem is with Snyder. But he won't say anything about Snyder because bloggers are a lot easier to criticize than billionaires.

Redskins fans are finally coming to grips with the team's new head coach, Jim Zorn. Not so much because nobody wanted him, but because nobody saw the hire coming. Whatever, the reviews are mostly good, even though Zorn has never been a coordinator or called plays before getting this gig.

One issue, though, is what this all means for quarterback Jason Campbell. Then-head coach Joe Gibbs traded back into the first round to grab Campbell in 2005, and after a year and a half learning by watching, the former Auburn star became Washington's starter midway through the 2006 season.

But here's the thing: with the latest coaching changes, Campbell will be learning his seventh offense in eight years, dating back to his college days. Seventh. Eight. That's a lot.

Campbell has flashed his big-play ability at various points in the last two seasons, but he's also been inconsistent. Not all that surprising given his inexperience and the fact that his last coordinator, Al Saunders, had a 700-page playbook. I'll assume Zorn's pithier than Saunders, but that doesn't necessarily make his offense any less complex:

When guys like Norv Turner and Wade Phillips get their third chance to run a NFL team without much success on their resume, my thoughts always turn to Jim Fassel. In seven years as head coach of the Giants, Fassel went to a Super Bowl, won two divisions and went to the playoffs a third time. C.V.'s with far less have gotten second jobs in pro football.

Last week, there appeared to be a pretty good chance that someone finally would. Fassel met with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder several times and, after being a finalist before Joe Gibbs got the job in 2004, seemed like a good bet to become Washington's next head coach. The 'Skins hired the inexperienced Jim Zorn, though, and Fassel was again left without a chair when the music stopped.

He's pretty sure the six games he spent as Ravens offensive coordinator in 2006 are the reason why.

"My biggest mistake was going to Baltimore. That was the biggest mistake. I don't think I needed to do that and when I went there and it was such a mess and got caught up in all that stuff...I can't tell you how many people have told me if you'd have just stayed out and done TV and radio and that stuff, it would have changed the whole perception of you."

Former Giants head coach Jim Fassel, who was spurned when the Redskins hired Jim Zorn as their new head coach, made an interesting point during an ESPN Radio appearance today: The latest trend in NFL coaching seems to be hiring inexperienced coaches.

Fassel wasn't bitter, he wasn't complaining, he was just making an observation. And it is rather surprising that the four teams that hired new head coaches, the Redskins, Falcons, Ravens and Dolphins, hired four guys with relatively little experience: Zorn, Mike Smith, John Harbaugh and Tony Sparano.

(Sparano is the guy in the picture, and the fact that a lot of NFL fans probably don't know that sort of demonstrates the point I'm making.)

And, although I have nothing against any of those four men, I think teams are making a mistake if they overlook experienced coaches like Fassel or Steve Mariucci when they make their decisions. Coaches who were fired in their previous jobs aren't always the most attractive candidates, they're often some of the best coaches in the league, from Bill Belichick to Tom Coughlin to Tony Dungy.

If I were an NFL owner, or a Redskins fan, I'd rather have a Fassel than a Zorn.

The Washington Redskins' search for a new head coach is now down to former Giants coach Jim Fassel, former 49ers and Lions coach Steve Mariucci and Colts defensive coordinator Ron Meeks, Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting.

The coach who some observers thought was emerging from sleeper to front-runner, Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, will remain in New York.

So who's the front-runner now? It appears to be Fassel, pictured above embracing Mariucci after Fassel's Giants lost to Mariucci's 49ers in January of 2003. Fassel had a solid run as the Giants' head coach, and it's somewhat surprising that he never got a second chance as a head coach.

Some published reports have said that Mariucci is out of the running, but the Redskins have said that's not the case. Meeks is a longtime assistant with a good track record, although Redskins owner Dan Snyder is thought to prefer someone with head-coaching experience.

Well, Dan Snyder has one person defending the Washington Redskins job search: Joe Gibbs.

"Dan has worked really hard at this," Gibbs said by telephone. "It takes time. I know how much he's put into it. I was happy to see what happened with Greg Blache [being promoted to defensive coordinator] and seeing how much of the staff is staying. That will help with the continuity that we talked about. I feel good about how it's going. It's a tough process and I know Dan is putting a lot into it."

So that should assuage any remaining concerns among Redskins fans. By the way, you think Gregg Williams was "happy to see what happened with Greg Blache?" I'm guessing he would've been a lot happier if Blache got promoted because Williams got Gibbs' job.

Whatever, I don't dispute Gibbs' contention that Snyder "has worked really hard at this." Snyder probably worked really hard to make the high school basketball team, but his short stature and his inability to beat guys off the dribble meant had to find other outlets for this love of sports.

Despite Snyder's meddling, the Redskins could still come out of this okay. Jim Fassel appears to be the front-runner for the job, and while he's a particularly exciting pick, he's a smart guy and a good coach. Of course, none of that will matter if Snyder and his henchman Vinny Cerrato again immerse themselves in player-personnel issues. Something Gibbs didn't really have to deal with during his four-year return to D.C.

I don't have anything against Jim Fassel. He seems like a likable sort, and he's apparently a pretty good coach. For many Redskins fans, thought, he's not the sexy pick to replace Joe Gibbs; and I think that, in part, has a lot to do with the reaction over the possibility it might happen.

Team owner Dan Snyder announced earlier this week that a head coach won't be named until after the Super Bowl, presumably to allow Washington to interview the Giants Steve Spagnuolo and the Patriots Josh McDaniels (both sexy picks, by the way).

Well, according to the Washington Times, Fassel's still the guy in the Redskins' eyes:

Fassel remains the front-runner even as Snyder reportedly plots a plan to chat with former San Francisco and Detroit coach Steve Mariucci and Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Those close to New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels don't expect him to pursue the Redskins' opening.

Who knows how this'll work out. I mean, you have Snyder and Vinny Cerrato running things so it wouldn't be a complete shock is they give George Allen the job. If Fassel does end up as the head coach, he does have some supporters: "He was a great coach for us," [Giants wideout Amani] Toomer said. "He really let us kind of take the team and make it ours, which I thought was good for that group. He was a coach that was very organized and very prepared."

And who knows, maybe he can even find work for Brian Billick on his staff.

Redskins fans continue to be understandably flummoxed. The team has been head-coachless for almost a month and with each passing day, the search becomes more bizarre. Which is saying something with owner Dan Snyder pulling the strings.

Anyway, Snyder and Vinny Cerrato have already jettisoned team favorite Gregg Williams, and USC coach Pete Carroll said he wasn't interested. Some people believe Jim Fassel is the favorite, and apparently, the Redskins won't make a final decision until after the Super Bowl. Word on the street has Snyder interested in Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

In the meantime, Snyder is seemingly interviewing every available head-coaching candidate in the league. Next up: Ron Meeks, Colts defensive coordinator. Like Fassel, Meeks is a supposed front-runner for the job, but we've heard similar rumors about Williams. And there's also another name to add to the never-ending list of potential candidates: Steve Mariucci.

I still think that the Redskins would be best served by Snyder pulling a Ted Turner and just coaching the team himself.

No one in the world really has any idea what's going on with the Redskins' coaching search. But since we're going to spend at least another week wondering about it, we might as well keep throwing names against the wall and see if any of them stick. And Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post throws the name of former 49ers and Lions coach Steve Mariucci:

I got Mariucci's agent, Gary O'Hagan, on the phone ever so briefly yesterday and after he peppered me with rapid-fire questions about the Redskins' coaching search I tried to pin him down on whether there had been contact between the Redskins and Mariucci and all he'd say is: "No comment." Mark Maske, our NFL reporter, ran into Mariucci in the media center for the Super Bowl in Phoenix, asked the former coach of the 49ers and Lions if he had talked to the Redskins regarding their opening: Mariucci seemed a little taken aback and said: "I'm working for the NFL Network right now, and that's all I'm doing."

Wonder if the "right now" part of that sentence turns out to be the key?

Mariucci got a raw deal, in my view, when he was fired by both the 49ers and the Lions. In both places, he took the fall for the failings of the front office. For that reason, I hope he gets a third chance in the NFL. But I don't buy it. Until I hear a good reason to think otherwise, my money is still on Jim Fassel.