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Just Remember: One Game Does Not a Coach Make
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Look, Jim Zorn may turn out to be a very fine coach who just needs experience. But -- and this will infuriate the need-to-know-now crowd -- we might not know until the end of the season and maybe beyond.
As he takes the field tonight opposite Tom Coughlin, give the man room to learn and grow before he is prematurely judged for the job.
Beyond the schedule and the expectations of the owner and fans, history also is against Zorn.
With rare exceptions, former NFL quarterbacks who had solid careers don't cut it as NFL head coaches. Just one, former Oakland Raiders coach Tom Flores, has won a Super Bowl; the majority usually get fired.
Bart Starr (52-76-3, two playoff games in nine seasons) and Otto Graham (17-22-3 in three inglorious seasons in Washington) found out the hard way. Need we really say more than Steve Spurrier?
Old signal-callers usually find more comfort in headsets belonging to networks instead of teams. Terry Bradshaw. Dan Marino. Ron Jaworski. Boomer Esiason. Troy Aikman. Phil Simms. Steve Young. Sonny Jurgensen. Established broadcasters, all of them, who were smart enough not to dabble in a less-stable profession after their playing careers ended.
In a way, Snyder got the best of both worlds when Zorn emerged from a bizarre hiring process last February. If he wins big early, Snyder is the prescient owner who saw talent in the womb. If Zorn falls hard and fast, Snyder could justify going after the big name, and no one could say he didn't give the unproven commodity a shot.
But Zorn deserves better. He might not deserve the complete 6-10 mulligan Gibbs got when he came back in 2004. But barring 3-13 or some such disaster in which the players lose confidence in him, Zorn deserves at least two years to prove his competence and worth.
Anything less makes him the space holder many people already perceive him to be.
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