FanHouse JimZorn

In the days since his release, speculation has been rampant as to where former Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson would eventually end up. Almost immediately, the Washington Redskins were a hot rumor. The shoe fit because Dan Snyder likes signing big names -- even if they are washed up has-beens -- and starting running back Clinton Portis recently went down with a concussion.

Wednesday, though, head coach Jim Zorn ruled out the possibility of the 'Skins bringing in the maligned veteran from Penn State.

I guess it was only a matter of time. You can now place wagers on who the next Redskins' head coach will be. Though there is nothing official from the Redskins that they'll definitely terminate Jim Zorn at or before the conclusion of the season, online betting place Play Blackjack Online has compiled a list with odds of possible coaching candidates.

We can add Bill Cowher's name to the litany of folks who have weighed in on the Jim Zorn situation in Washington. After the 'Skins lost to the then-winless Chiefs last Sunday, Zorn's tenure in DC was pretty much done -- except that Assistant to the Traveling Secretary Vinny Cerrato went on the radio to proclaim that Zorn's job would be safe through the end of the season.

His job description would change, however. Sure, owner Dan Snyder brought in Zorn specifically because of his ability to develop quarterbacks and put together an offensive game plan, but now, 21 games into his first head-coaching gig, Zorn would have to give up play-calling duties to Bingo Grand Master Sherm Lewis.

During Sunday's CBS pregame show, former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher was not impressed. Via Newsday's Neil Best:

Good news, Jim Zorn supporters: the head coach isn't the problem in Washington. It's the shoddily assembled roster, most of which is littered with players who either a) don't understand their roles, or b) can't physically execute the offense.

That's the word according to ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski, who said as much during Friday's appearance on Tony Kornheiser's DC-area radio show.

Via the Sports Bog:

NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

As Round 1 of our single-elimination fight tournament involving NFL coaches nears its end, let us recap the action we've seen so far. To view the entire bracket or learn what we're talking about, kindly click on the links below.

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It looks like we can call off the Jim Zorn Deathwatch. For the next couple of days anyway.

Redskins executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato said on his ESPN980 radio show Friday morning that Zorn won't be fired before the 2009 season reaches its conclusion.

"Let me start by making a few things very perfectly clear: Jim Zorn is the head coach of the Washington Redskins, and will be for the rest of this season, and hopefully into the future."

Cerrato's hardly an impartial party to this decision. When and if Zorn gets fired and when and if Daniel Snyder brings in the big-name coach everyone expects he'll bring in as a replacement, Cerrato will be the next head on the chopping block.

I'm not sure how John Riggins would fill his days if not for the futility that Redskins football provided. He's carved out a nice little niche in a crowded DC-area media landscape.

Partly because he was an integral cog in those 'Skins teams that routinely made the playoffs in the early 1980s, but also because he's frank in his assessment of the current organization, not to mention his attention to details others might overlook. Like, say, production quality (and free-stylin').

There are no metaphorical wood piles this week, however. Nope, just Riggo on the radio diatribin' it up. Video after the jump:

"I don't know what to do" is a meme put forth by fans, coaches, critics ... anybody with a passing interest in the Washington Redskins.

In the wake of the most recent loss -- a hard-to-watch 14-6 showing against the previously winless Chiefs -- Jim Zorn has been stripped of his play-calling duties (his job title is sure to follow), Jason Campbell was benched (good news: he has his job back!), and the torch-and-pitchfork crowd is mobilizing.

And some of them are doing it while sporting a paper bag. Like this disgruntled fan, for example.

It's been 24 hours since the Redskins lost to the Chiefs. In that time, Jim Zorn has been stripped of play-calling duties, Bingo guru Sherm Lewis has been given the responsibility, and John Riggins is hastily producing another backwoods manifesto.

While we wait for the inevitable, Tony Kornheiser used his radio show to relay his encounter with 'Skins owner Dan Snyder during Sunday's fiasco. Mr. Tony had the pleasure of sitting in the owner's box (as much as 60 minutes of JV high school football can be deemed pleasurable).

Via the Sports Bog:

I lived in Washington, DC for four years, and it was more than enough time for me to come to hate the Redskins. But that was earlier this decade, when Joe Gibbs had returned to the nation's capital to rescue the franchise he had previously led to three Super Bowl titles.

Gibbs was hailed as a savior, the one man who could save Dan Snyder from himself and, frankly, it all got to be a bit much. But after less than two years of Jim Zorn, I've softened my anti-'Skins stance, mostly because it's such pitiful situation. And it would be one thing if Snyder and Vinny Cerrato were the only victims in this sideshow, but Gitmo detainees have been better treated than Redskins' fans.

But as the Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg writes, some good has come from the hopelessness: "One thing about this Burgundy Revolution; whatever happens in the end, it's been beautiful to see the creative flowering this unrest has engendered."

Danny Rouhier, disaffected 'Skins supporter, has taken his story to the YouTubes. It's poignant and funny. But mostly poignant.