Zorn "probably the worst NFL hire of all time"??

Why do people say these things without knowing the facts? To make matters worse, this exact thing has been discussed in this very thread.
1- Andy Reid was qb coach and assistant head coach in GB before going to philly.
2- Mooch was the head coach for university of California before going to the NFL.
This is the 3rd or 4th time in the past 2 or 3 days I have had to correct these types of things.
I understand we all make mistakes, however, if you do not know something, please don't present it as fact.

What did it mean that Andy Reid was the assistant head coach beyond the title?

Amen! Cowher is so overrated...he was somehow cleansed by that improbable super bowl run a couple years ago. He had so many high seeds go belly up at home in the playoffs. He is a total Shotenheimer except for that one playoff run. Good coach but nothing special. You listen to the media talk and its like Canton is preparing his bust...

You could not be more wrong.
Cowher, 149-90-1 (.623%). Playoffs, 12-9, .571%
Schott, 200-126-1 (.613%). Playoffs, 5-13, .278%

While the regular season records are similar (Cowher has him by 10%), to compare him to Schottenheimer in the playoffs is beyond comprehension. It's not even close...and even if you take away the "improbable super bowl run" he's still 8-9 which is a TON better than Schottenheimer. Of course, you can't really take that run away, it wasn't a fluke, it was a matter of time.
Schottenheimer has had 0 super bowl appearances, 0 AFC/NFC championships. Cowher has been to 2 super bowls / 2 AFC/NFC championships. Also, Cowher has 9 Division Championships, Schott only 8 despite coaching in 6 MORE seasons.

ps- they ARE preparing his bust in Canton!

What did it mean that Andy Reid was the assistant head coach beyond the title?

Well, he "assisted" in "head coach" duties. Stop focusing on how the SKins do things when it comes to titles and understand that other teams actually call it like they want it. Therefore Reid had a lot more experience since he assisted the head coach.
I suppose everyone should just ignore titles now?

Over 15,000 have voted now. Keep in mind Baltimore, Atlanta, and Miami had a combined record of 10-38 in 2007, and we were a playoff team. It's a nice poll, but it's kind of a no-brainer.

Exactly what I was going to say. Even if we hired Mike Smith, we'd have the majority of the votes cause we have an established team.
I'm not thrilled with the Zorn hiring (as HC), but I most certainly beleive Zorn will do better than all those guys.

Well, he "assisted" in "head coach" duties. Stop focusing on how the SKins do things when it comes to titles and understand that other teams actually call it like they want it. Therefore Reid had a lot more experience since he assisted the head coach.
I suppose everyone should just ignore titles now?

Heck of an answer. He "assisted" in "head coach" duties.

Does that mean he ran practices when Holmgren called in sick? Was he part of the player selection process for all units (the way Williams was here)? Was he involved in the game plan and play design each week (the way Zorn was in Seattle)? Did he just get that title as a preventive measure to keep him in Green Bay?

Heck of an answer. He "assisted" in "head coach" duties.

Why thank you. :D

Just a few points here:

1. Fans who think Zorn will be the most successful of the new NFL coaches next year are probably also looking at the teams that the new coaches have inherited. The Falcons, Ravens and Dolphins are a mess; the Redskins made the playoffs. So Zorn starts out with more to work with here. If the Redskins finish with a worse record than either the Dolphins or the Falcons in 2009, that would be a serious problem. Maybe the Ravens can make one more run with their good - but aging quickly - defense, but the other two teams here just plain stink.


2. Tim Kawakami is a rather respected columnist and beat writer with the San Jose Mercury-News. He's been successful in at least two cities that I can recall and has pretty good sources for "stuff". The folks here on the Warpath who called him a "douchebag" because he didn't think Jim Zorn was all that good a selection and attacked him as a know-nothing didn't seem to demonstrate that they knew a whole lot about Mr. Kawakami's credentials. If you are going to attack someone for not being objective when he vented his spleen about Jim Zorn, it would be good for the attacker to be sure to know something about the subject before venting his spleen about Mr. Kawakami...


3. Ray Handley and Bobby Petrino have been heralded as bad hires - worse than Jim Zorn. That's definitely true from my perspective. Let me add some other names here that folks can research if they want to see what really bad coaching selections can do to a franchise:

Joe Kuharich
Richie Kotite (twice)
Wayne Fontes
Marion Campbell (twice)


4. Jim Zorn is taking a HUGE step up in terms of responsibility for a football team. If anyone doubts that, then he probably also thinks that Sonny Jurgensen would be a great back-up QB for the Skins next year too. Can Zorn make that HUGE step up? No one - not Tim Kawakami nor any poster here nor Danny Boy nor Jim Zorn himself - will KNOW the answer to that until about this time next year. So, fasten your seat belts and get ready for an interesting ride next season - - hopefully with a minimum of molar-jarring bumps...

No one got mad at Kawakami "because he didn't think Jim Zorn was all that good a selection", but the guy flat out said this may very well be the worst NFL hire of all time! That is insulting to a man who hasnt even been on the job for more than a few hours before he wrote that. Not to mention Kawakami has a responsibility to actually do research and not make dumb remarks that Zorn was out of football and then magically ended up as Seattle's qb coach!

They compare him with tony dungy on the nice guy meter...maybe the nice guy motivator approach will work.

Just a few points here:

2. Tim Kawakami is a rather respected columnist and beat writer with the San Jose Mercury-News. He's been successful in at least two cities that I can recall and has pretty good sources for "stuff". The folks here on the Warpath who called him a "douchebag" because he didn't think Jim Zorn was all that good a selection and attacked him as a know-nothing didn't seem to demonstrate that they knew a whole lot about Mr. Kawakami's credentials. If you are going to attack someone for not being objective when he vented his spleen about Jim Zorn, it would be good for the attacker to be sure to know something about the subject before venting his spleen about Mr. Kawakami...


My problem with the article is that it was factually inaccurate as to Zorn's past experience AND apparently inaccurate as to the esteem Zorn is held among his peers. Further, it is appears to insert a personal prejudice about Zorn based on an interview done some years ago. Finally, it ignores the fact that QB coach and other position coaches have been promoted in the past and succeeded. Then, despite all this, he recommends Singletary who, in many respects, is indistinguishable from Zorn in terms of experience and lacks Zorn's pedigree (i.e. the Holmgren coaching tree).

Understand, I am not touting Zorn as the greatest hire ever, nor am I saying that his peers think that he will step in and do a phenomenal job. Rather, I am merely critiquing a printed opinion by a journalist, credible or not, as poorly researched and obviously biased. It would seem to me that, if Mr. Kawakami is as respected as you say, then he should be a little more careful in his printed words whether they are mere blog or in a newsarticle.