Redskins fire Jim Zorn after 2 seasons

Updated at 8:46 a.m.

The Washington Redskins fired Coach Jim Zorn this morning, ending a two-year stint that began with his surprising elevation from an obscure quarterbacks coach and finished with a dismissal that seemed inevitable after the Redskins' disastrous four-win season.

"The status quo is not acceptable," General Manager Bruce Allen said in a statement. "I felt it was necessary to not waste a moment of time to begin building this team into a winner."

The Redskins will hold a press conference at 12:30 p.m., at which Allen will discuss the decision. The team announced the firing at 7:40 a.m. on ESPN 980, after initial reports on WRC and WUSA.

"It's a reality. We've been hearing about it for a long time," offensive coordinator Sherman Smith said via CSN Washington. "I'm sad. Jim's a good friend and I think he's a good coach, and I think he came here with a lot of hope of wanting to help the Redskins get back to being that team that they were in the early '90s and late '80s when they were winning Super Bowls. I'm sad about that."

Zorn, 56, didn't comment after he returned from his team's trip to San Diego, where it lost the season finale 23-20 to finish 4-12, the team's worst record in 15 years. He finished his tumultuous tenure 12-20, and had one year left on his contract.



He came directly to Redskins Park from the airport, arriving just ahead of buses carrying players at roughly 2:15 a.m. Most players and coaches - including defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and defensive coordinator Greg Blache - walked directly to their cars, but others went into the building. As he walked to his car, Blache told the media, "Let the dude go." Secondary coach Jerry Gray and offensive coordinator Sherman Smith left shortly afterward.

At around 2:45, Redskins' security ordered all media to leave the parking lot, with one security member saying that it was so that Zorn would not be bothered when he left the building. Over the next two hours, coaches continued to leave the property and at about 4:30 a.m., running backs coach Stump Mitchell got into his car. Redskins staff members came out of the building about 10 minutes later and walked toward the media room, which is in a different building, presumably to assure that Zorn would not be bothered by the small media group that had approached Mitchell.

Zorn then came out and walked to his white Porsche Cayenne with a staff member at his side and left the park at 4:43 a.m., talking on his cellphone as he drove out of the parking lot.



The Redskins may swiftly announce his replacement, possibly within hours. In December, Washington forced out longtime front office executive Vinny Cerrato and announced the hiring of new general manager Bruce Allen within two hours, putting in motion the overhaul of the franchise's infrastructure after a 10-year period that featured just two playoff appearances.

Former Denver and Oakland coach Mike Shanahan, who won two Super Bowls with Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway and the Broncos, has been the presumed hire for weeks. Several NFL sources have said over the past month that they believe Shanahan has long been the choice of Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder, who now must hire his seventh head coach since he took control of the team in 1999.

The Redskins are already cleared to make a swift hire. The Fritz Pollard Alliance, which oversees the NFL's so-called "Rooney Rule" that requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching and top-level front office positions, said last month that current secondary coach Jerry Gray, an African American, has already interviewed for Zorn's job. The alliance, therefore, believes the Redskins have complied with the rule, and no further interviews would be necessary.