Cerrato: Zorn Will Return Next Year
December 23
Washington Post
"A day after the Washington Redskins were eliminated from playoff contention, Vinny Cerrato, the team's executive vice president of football operations, reiterated yesterday that first-year head coach Jim Zorn will return next season.
"Yeah," Cerrato said when asked if Zorn would lead the Redskins in the 2009 season. During an interview at his office at Redskins Park, Cerrato offered general observations about the state of the team as Washington (8-7) prepares to complete its season Sunday at San Francisco, and provided a more detailed public evaluation of Zorn, quarterback Jason Campbell and the 2008 draft class than he has previously this season.
Zorn, who is also Washington's play-caller, has come under scrutiny as the offense struggled during a three-game losing streak and 1-5 stretch that ended with Sunday's 10-3 victory over Philadelphia. But Cerrato said replacing Zorn, who has two more guaranteed seasons remaining on his contract, "has never been discussed, period."
Speaking on his radio program on ESPN 980 last week, Cerrato said Zorn's status had not been discussed in the Redskins' front office. He took things a step further yesterday, describing a question about Zorn's standing as "crazy. Why wouldn't he be back?"
Cerrato said he is confident Zorn, whom he strongly recommended to team owner Daniel Snyder for the Redskins' head coaching vacancy last winter, is "learning and he's improving. Just how rookie players learn and improve, same type of steps. He's making progress."
After a 6-2 start, the Redskins' performance sagged during the second half of the season and they were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday. The defense has given up an average of 284.1 yards per game, ranking fourth in the NFL, but the offense has not been productive, especially since the midpoint of the schedule. Of the 32 NFL teams, only Cleveland, Oakland, St. Louis and Cincinnati have scored fewer points than Washington's total of 241.
Growing pains were inevitable this season as Zorn began to install his version of the West Coast offense that features many three- and four-receiver formations. "Every team in the National Football League has weaknesses," Cerrato said. "Once a season is over, you get together, and this is what we'll do. We'll get together as coaches, scouts [and] administration, we'll put down our strengths, weaknesses and where we need to improve. I think that's a process that every team goes through.
"Even if you're a Super Bowl-contending team, even if you're the Super Bowl champions, there are areas you need to improve," Cerrato continued. "Everybody is going to look to improve. You're always looking to improve. During the season, you're looking to improve the bottom of your roster. You're always looking to get better. Nobody's perfect. With that said, we will look, evaluate and try to fix as many holes as we can fix. Once the final game is played, we'll evaluate every area and look to see where we need to improve."
The evaluation of Campbell's play is a key part of the process. The fourth-year quarterback, who has worked closely with Zorn since February, performed at the highest level of his career in leading the Redskins during their strong first half. As the offensive line experienced major breakdowns in pass protection later in the season, however, Campbell had a significant drop-off in production. "
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