D.C. Examiner: Zorn's job in jeopardy? (not so fast he's coming back)

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Well let's be clear then that you're paraphrasing here because I'm not saying under any circumstances. I'm just saying that I think it's in the best interests of the organization to allow Zorn to battle through this. And show that he can battle through this. And with this swoon happening so late in the season it may be tough to fix this in just a few weeks. Particularly when some of the answers probably lie in getting new players on the field and new assistant coaches on the sidelines. I just think that if Zorn is so quickly dismissed then what sort of message does that send on down to the players about faith in them to work through adversity and about patience in building a long-term consistent winning franchise.

I was pretty adamant last off-season that it didn't matter that his staff for all intents and purposes was put together before Zorn was hired as head coach. That other teams (see the Dolphins) had done something similar. But I'm rethinking that. I think that maybe part of the disconnect is you still have a lot of Gibbs' guys in the locker room and that may not be entirely fair to Zorn.

Look, I wasn't the biggest fan of selecting Zorn in the first place as head coach. It was a bit of a head scratcher to me. He has a lot to learn about being a head coach-and we should have expected that-and I think he deserves at least a little more time to learn. I will be very interested to see how he handles the next three weeks.

Fair points, and I didn't mean to put words in your mouth. One bone to pick though. I do agree that it bears watching how he handles this crisis over the next three weeks. But I don't think it's a matter of him showing that he can learn and work his way through this, I think it's a matter of him revealing his true character and working his way through it.

What he's about to deal with is not something you can learn. Bringing men together and uniting them toward a common goal, getting them to play hard and inspired for you is not a skill you can get better at. You either have it or you don't.

Either Zorn has the leadership abilities and pulls this team together in the home stretch, or he doesn't and the locker room remains a mess the rest of the way. Time will tell. But if we lose these three games and this locker room is still a wreck at season's end, then I've seen all I need to see. It will prove to me he lacks the leadership skills of a Joe Gibbs, Bill Parcells, John Gruden, Mike Holmgren, or Bill Cowher. I don't think you can learn how to get men to respect you and play for you - especially if you've already truly lost their respect to begin with.

Yes it would be horrible to tear everything down yet again. It would stunt Campbell and set back our long term planning yet again. But if the head coach lacks the leadership skill set, then I'd rather tear it all down and get started trying to build it back up again. I've seen a team hang onto a coach with no leadership skills before - I absolutely don't want a repeat of the Turner era.

So let's hope Zorn pulls this team together. Despite the pessimistic tone of my post, I am optimistic that Zorn can do this. It starts with the Bengals.