How Jim Zorn Will Dismantle the Washington Redskins Franchise

Not that he needs that much help, because Daniel Snyder has already done such a fine job of it, but if Snyder is going to fire Jim Zorn, it will cost him much more than the remaining terms of the contract. It’s going to cost him players, fans, and likely, league-wide respectability, if there was such a thing coming into this season.

Don’t think for a second that the Redskins’ futile effort against the Giants at home last night was an off performance. Even in their worst performances, the Redskins still played with a level of composure that may not have earned them victories, but at least avoided embarrassment.

No, last night was a slick little inside jab from Zorn up to the owner’s box, for a national viewing audience, and Mike Shanahan to enjoy. The Redskins reverted back to their discombobulated play calling of old; lack of protection and disheartened approach to offense. All of that was by design, culminating in one of the worst play calls and executions you’ll ever see in any professional sport.

It was Zorn’s sly way of telling the world, “If you want to root for this team, and support the next guy who comes in, it will be at your own risk. This is what Snyder has driven me to do. Sabotage any efforts to compete in a game; just to protest the ill circumstances under which I work.”

And honestly, can you blame him? Can you blame Jim Zorn for wanting the money and a way to publicly humiliate the franchise that has skewered him over and over again publicly and privately? Can you fault the guy for finding himself in the role he was hired to fulfill—an epic coaching failure?

Redskins Nation ought to be used to intentional failure and embarrassment, as Snyder has so aptly demonstrated over the last 10 years. So, they shouldn’t act all upset that Jim Zorn is getting in on the franchise’s claim to fame.

Sure, somebody might get seriously injured playing into Zorn’s game of “aight, watch this” with Snyder. And sure, some fans might actually make good on their promises to abandon the team, but you can’t blame him for it; not in the least.