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Cerrato: Jim Zorn 'didn't listen'
Jim Zorn turned into a "celebrity" coach who wouldn't listen to anyone, leading to the downfall of the Redskins, former club executive Vinny Cerrato said in a radio appearance Tuesday.
For nearly two hours, Cerrato appeared on 106.7 The Fan's "Mike Wise Show" and addressed his decade-long tenure with the team.
Asked about his successes and failures in the Washington front office, including the hiring of Zorn as head coach, Cerrato said Zorn may deserve more blame for the team’s downfall than fans had perhaps thought.
“That was a mistake," Cerrato said of hiring Zorn following a month-long search in January/February 2007. "It might have been totally different. We were coming off the playoffs; we had a good football team. We started out 6-2. If we would have had the right head coach, we would have been back to the playoffs again and I think people would have had a totally different outlook.”
Part of the problem, Cerrato said, was how Zorn reacted to that good start.
“When we started, we were 6-2 and the guy’s doing a good job, but then I think ego got into play and then he stopped listening to coaches and became a celebrity," he said. "That’s when Rush Limbaugh is on the sideline and, I mean, give me a break. Just worry about Clinton Portis and Chris Samuels, worry about the next team.
"He didn’t listen, we tried to help him out and he didn’t listen."
Cerrato did say Zorn is “still a decent quarterbacks coach.”
Cerrato also said Zorn created problems for the franchise with his lack of polish with the media and said the reason Cerrato hosted a weekly radio show -- "Inside The Red Zone," on ESPN 980 -- was because Zorn couldn’t handle the media.
Cerrato said Zorn’s specific media problem was that he gave out too much information:
“That’s what you tried to tell Jim Zorn, 'Jim, that’s part of your job. When you talk to the media, you can’t tell them everything.’ He wanted to tell them everything.
“I think Jim’s downfall was when he went on and started ripping the players.”
*Cerrato also addressed the team's bringing in Sherman Lewis as an offensive consultant midway through the 2009 season. Lewis was a 22-year veteran of the NFL but had been out of the league for over five years and became most famous for his previous job as a bingo caller in Michigan. Cerrato said the reason the Redskins went outside the organization for the hire was once again Zorn’s fault.
“Part of Jim’s problem was that the offensive staff that he hired, there wasn’t the experience. There was nobody on the staff who could call a play."
* Cerrato on his biggest success with the Redskins: “I would say when we didn’t have a third-round pick and traded in to pick Chris Cooley. You know, we’re sitting there and we all loved Cooley. And Dan [Snyder] says, 'Let’s go for it. Let’s go get him.’”
*Cerrato named safety Adam Archuleta as his biggest disappointment. Archuleta signed in free agency five years ago only to lose his job and eventually be traded to Chicago for a late-round pick.
*On whether Archuleta was worse than Albert Haynesworth: "Yeah, absolutely. The thing about it with Albert was, we were horrible in sack production and turnovers that year. So what did Albert do? Albert came in and all of a sudden Andre Carter’s got 11 sacks and [Brian] Orakpo’s got 11 and both were going to the Pro Bowl."
*On whether Haynesworth created any of the dysfunction he caused in his second year: "He was fine that whole year; he didn’t have any problems.”
Cerrato was dismissed late in the 2009 season and replaced hours later by Bruce Allen, who became the first executive to be given the general manager title under Snyder's ownership. Zorn departed weeks later and was replaced by Mike Shanahan
Jim Zorn turned into a "celebrity" coach who wouldn't listen to anyone, leading to the downfall of the Redskins, former club executive Vinny Cerrato said in a radio appearance Tuesday.
For nearly two hours, Cerrato appeared on 106.7 The Fan's "Mike Wise Show" and addressed his decade-long tenure with the team.
Asked about his successes and failures in the Washington front office, including the hiring of Zorn as head coach, Cerrato said Zorn may deserve more blame for the team’s downfall than fans had perhaps thought.
“That was a mistake," Cerrato said of hiring Zorn following a month-long search in January/February 2007. "It might have been totally different. We were coming off the playoffs; we had a good football team. We started out 6-2. If we would have had the right head coach, we would have been back to the playoffs again and I think people would have had a totally different outlook.”
Part of the problem, Cerrato said, was how Zorn reacted to that good start.
“When we started, we were 6-2 and the guy’s doing a good job, but then I think ego got into play and then he stopped listening to coaches and became a celebrity," he said. "That’s when Rush Limbaugh is on the sideline and, I mean, give me a break. Just worry about Clinton Portis and Chris Samuels, worry about the next team.
"He didn’t listen, we tried to help him out and he didn’t listen."
Cerrato did say Zorn is “still a decent quarterbacks coach.”
Cerrato also said Zorn created problems for the franchise with his lack of polish with the media and said the reason Cerrato hosted a weekly radio show -- "Inside The Red Zone," on ESPN 980 -- was because Zorn couldn’t handle the media.
Cerrato said Zorn’s specific media problem was that he gave out too much information:
“That’s what you tried to tell Jim Zorn, 'Jim, that’s part of your job. When you talk to the media, you can’t tell them everything.’ He wanted to tell them everything.
“I think Jim’s downfall was when he went on and started ripping the players.”
*Cerrato also addressed the team's bringing in Sherman Lewis as an offensive consultant midway through the 2009 season. Lewis was a 22-year veteran of the NFL but had been out of the league for over five years and became most famous for his previous job as a bingo caller in Michigan. Cerrato said the reason the Redskins went outside the organization for the hire was once again Zorn’s fault.
“Part of Jim’s problem was that the offensive staff that he hired, there wasn’t the experience. There was nobody on the staff who could call a play."
* Cerrato on his biggest success with the Redskins: “I would say when we didn’t have a third-round pick and traded in to pick Chris Cooley. You know, we’re sitting there and we all loved Cooley. And Dan [Snyder] says, 'Let’s go for it. Let’s go get him.’”
*Cerrato named safety Adam Archuleta as his biggest disappointment. Archuleta signed in free agency five years ago only to lose his job and eventually be traded to Chicago for a late-round pick.
*On whether Archuleta was worse than Albert Haynesworth: "Yeah, absolutely. The thing about it with Albert was, we were horrible in sack production and turnovers that year. So what did Albert do? Albert came in and all of a sudden Andre Carter’s got 11 sacks and [Brian] Orakpo’s got 11 and both were going to the Pro Bowl."
*On whether Haynesworth created any of the dysfunction he caused in his second year: "He was fine that whole year; he didn’t have any problems.”
Cerrato was dismissed late in the 2009 season and replaced hours later by Bruce Allen, who became the first executive to be given the general manager title under Snyder's ownership. Zorn departed weeks later and was replaced by Mike Shanahan