Jim Zorn

Infobox NFLretired
Color=#7D0008
fontcolor=#FFBE26


caption=Zorn during his coaching tenure with the Seahawks.
position=Quarterback
number=10
birthdate=birth date and age|1953|5|10
Whittier, California
deathdate=
debutyear=1976
finalyear=1987
undraftedyear=1976
college=Cal Poly-Pomona
teams=Playing career
* Seattle Seahawks (1976–1984)
* Green Bay Packers (1985)
* Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1986)
* Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987) College coaching career
* Boise State (1988–1991)
* Utah State University (1992–1994)
* University of Minnesota (1995–1996)Profressional assistant coaching career
* Seattle Seahawks (1997–1998)
* Detroit Lions (1999–2000)
* Seattle Seahawks (2001–2007)Professional head coaching career
* Washington Redskins (2008–present)
stat1label=TD-INT
stat1value=111-141
stat2label=Yards
stat2value=21,115
stat3label=QB Rating
stat3value=77.3
nfl=ZOR622935
highlights=
* All-Pro selection (1978)
* Seahawks Ring of Honor
HOF=

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 of the National Football League. Zorn was a left-handed quarterback, and is best known as the youthful and charismatic leader of the (then-expansion) Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), for their first seven-and-a-half seasons. He was the quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks in the 2007 season. The Washington Redskins named Zorn its 27th head coach on February 9, 2008. [cite web| url=http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=A0WTeTwBQa5H_ekAeAI5nYcB?slug=ap-redskins-zorn&prov=ap&type=lgns| title=Jim Zorn hired as Washington Redskins coach| accessdate=2008-02-09]

Education

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

Playing career

Jim 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) [cite web|url=http://www.seahawks.com/team/ringofhonor.aspx| title=Seahawks Ring of Honor| accessdate=2008-02-12] . Zorn was named NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year by the NFLPA following the team's inaugural 1976 season [Oakland Tribune, November 3, 1977, page 46, Retrieved on 2008-02-20] . Zorn was also the Seahawks' team MVP, throwing for 12 touchdowns and rushing for 4 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 the backup quarterback through the 1984 season.

Zorn then played a season with the Green Bay Packers (1985), another with the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1986), and one final game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL strike. In the NFL, Zorn threw for 21,115 yards and 111 touchdowns, completing 53% of his passes. He also ran for another 17 touchdowns. [ [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/ZornJi00.htm Jim Zorn Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com ] ]

College coaching career

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. Zorn 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

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

After Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs retired in January 2008, owner Daniel Snyder hired Jim Zorn as the team's new offensive coordinator. A few weeks later, on February 10 2008, Snyder made him the Redskins' new head coach [cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/10/AR2008021002583.html| title=Washington Post on Jim Zorn| accessdate=2008-02-12] . He is the fourth head coach hired by owner Daniel Snyder since he bought the team in 1999. He earned his first ever pro 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.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/ZornJi00.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com] – career statistics - Jim Zorn
* [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/328887_hawk24.html Hawks' QB's are Zorn-again players] – Seattle Post-Intelligencer – August 24, 2007