Jim Zorn

Template:NFLretired James Arthur "Jim" Zorn (born May 10, 1953 in Whittier, California) is the current American football head coach of the Washington Redskins, and a former quarterback in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks. Zorn was a left-handed quarterback, and is best known as the youthful and charismatic leader of the (then-expansion) Seattle Seahawks of the NFL, for their first seven-and-a-half seasons. He was the quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks in the 2007 season. The Redskins named Zorn their 27th head coach on February 9, 2008.

Early life

Zorn graduated from Gahr High School in Cerritos, California in 1971, and played college football at Cal Poly Pomona for the Broncos.

Professional career (1976–87)

He was a star starting QB for the Seahawks in their early days from 1976–83, before his position was taken by Dave Krieg and he was demoted to second-string quarterback midway through the 1983 season. He held second-string/backup quarterback positions with the Seahawks (1983-84), the Packers (1985), the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (1986), and the Buccaneers (1987), before retiring following the 1987 NFL season.

Seattle Seahawks (1976–84)

Zorn is closely associated with his favorite passing target, Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent. Largent was the first Seahawk inducted into the team's "Ring of Honor" (1989), and Zorn was second (1991). Zorn was named NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year by the National Football League Players Association following the team's inaugural 1976 season. He was also the Seahawks' team MVP, throwing for 12 touchdowns and rushing for four touchdowns.

He was succeeded by Dave Krieg midway through the 1983 season, the year the Seahawks first made the NFL playoffs. Zorn stayed with the team as a second-string quarterback until the end of the 1984 season.

Green Bay Packers and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1985–86)

The Green Bay Packers signed Zorn to the second-string quarterback position in 1985. The Packers finished the season 8–8, 2nd in the NFC Central, but not enough to make the playoffs. The Packers released Zorn in the 1985-86 NFL off-season. Zorn decided to take a season off from the NFL and signed on to a backup quarterback position with the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1986, where he played one game before leaving the team and being released once again.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Retirement (1987)

In 1987, Zorn decided to come back to the NFL after only one season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He signed on with his third NFL team (fourth overall), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He managed to play one final game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL strike before officially retiring. The 1987 Bucs finished the season 4-11, missing the playoffs. In the NFL, Zorn threw for 21,115 yards and 111 touchdowns, completing 53% of his passes. He also ran for another 17 touchdowns.

College coaching career (1988-96)

After his playing career concluded, Zorn returned to college football as an assistant coach. His first stop was at Boise State University, where he was the quarterbacks coach from 1988–91. He then served as the offensive coordinator for Utah State from 1992–94. From 1995–1996 Zorn coached the quarterbacks for the University of Minnesota.

Professional assistant coaching career (1997-2007)

Zorn moved up to the pro coaching ranks in 1997–98 as an offensive assistant for the Seahawks under Dennis Erickson and the next two years (1999–2000) as the quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions. He returned to the Seahawks in 2001 as their quarterbacks coach, and retained that position through the 2007 season.

Professional head coaching career (2008-present)

After Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs retired in January 2008, owner Daniel Snyder hired Zorn as the team's new offensive coordinator. A few weeks later, on February 10, 2008, Snyder made him the Redskins' new head coach. He is the fourth head coach hired by Snyder since he bought the team in 1999. Zorn earned his first ever professional coaching victory with a 29–24 win over the New Orleans Saints in week 2 of the 2008 NFL season. In week 4 of the 2008 season, Zorn became the first Redskins head coach to win his first game at Texas Stadium against the rival Dallas Cowboys since George Allen during the 1971 season. He was relieved of offensive play calling duties after the Redskins were defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct 18, 2009.

Head coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
		Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
WAS	2008	8	8	0	.500	4th in NFC East	-	-	-	-
WAS	2009	2	4	0	.333	Season in progress	-	-	-	-
Total		10	12	0	.417		-	-	-	-

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Jim Zorn has served:

• Jack Patera, Seattle Seahawks (1976–1982)
• Mike McCormack, Seattle Seahawks (1982–1983)
• Dennis Erickson, Seattle Seahawks (1997–1998)
• Bobby Ross, Detroit Lions (1998–2000)
• Mike Holmgren, Seattle Seahawks (2001–2007)

Personal life

Zorn, and his wife, Joy, have four children: daughters Rachael, Sarah, Danielle and son Isaac.

External links

• Redskins Bio
• Pro-Football-Reference.com – career statistics - Jim Zorn
• Pro-Football-Reference.com – career coaching statistics - Jim Zorn
• Hawks' QB's are Zorn-again players – Seattle Post-Intelligencer – August 24, 2007

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