Zorn Has To Leave Self-Criticism Behind

[Mass_SkinsFan]

A wise man once told me that Leadership isn't crouching in a trench and yelling at your men to charge that enemy position, but rather standing up in that trench, looking around and screaming.... "FOLLOW ME." as you leap out of the trench and charge the position yourself. I totally agree.

In this case that means Zorn has to publicly accept responsibility for his mistakes if he's going to call out the players who screw up; which I find it refreshing that he's doing.

[NorthEast Skin]

Jim Zorn may be 'refreshingly' honest by NFL media standards and as a rookie coach has to feel his own way in the job, but he has to maintain his position as the unquestioned leader of the football team in the eyes of all including the players.

He may be unsure of himself and some of his decisions as the season goes along and he may share some of that behind the scenes with Bugel or Blache as a sounding board, but he cannot afford to wear his heart on his sleeve publicly here for too much longer and keep the edge necessary to be successful as a leader.

Whether it is the military, business or sports leaders can and do make mistakes, but the one think they can't do is dwell on them or on the reality that at times they don't necessarily know THE right answer to every question.

Gibbs got away with producing mea culpas for this team over the past 4 years because of his past successes, but in those early years Joe never publicly flailed himself the way that Zorn has done and is doing.

Joe may have been at a loss at 0-3, 0-4 and 0-5 in 1981 and at other times during his first tenure, but rarely did you see quotes in the Post or on the radio (no internet at the time) where Gibbs PUBLICLY voiced those doubts.

These problems and challenges were overcome INTERNALLY.

And that is what Zorn has to start doing. He needs to conduct his analysis of the team's problems and work on solving them privately.

You can address the media after a loss and show frustration or anger at the results, but following those emotions with an 'unbearing of the soul' so to speak is in my mind counter-productive.

The players have to believe that the coach has a plan and is going to move forward to fix things whether he actually has the whole plan in place yet or not.

That is the only way not to lose them.

Spurrier lost the team specifically by appearing to the players, media and fans as being an emperor who had been stripped of all his clothes.

Amen Brother! The media loves Zorn openness but to lead a group you need to keep somethings internal. Great Post!

[NorthEast Skin]

I disagree.. He has no problem discussing player errors with the press, he has to put some things on himself as well or else he comes across as unaccountable. That's a fair standard to me. Call me on my shortcomings and acknowledge your own. I respect that more than someone always pointing the finger either at their players (Billick) or themselves (Gibbs).

Don't know if you have managed a large group but the dynamic mentioned in the original post is true as well in business. I have managed projects for over 15 years and spilling information about team members deficiencies and your own issues openly does not foster team continuity or manager confidence, especially during tough times. The media will throw and joke about the K. Campbell injury, not passing physicals, etc. and for what, so they can know every detail about the internal organization.

[SoCalSkins]

Bull****.

I watched the post game presser on Comcast and he called his passing game "good". That is pretty much as close to the definition of BS as you can get. I am glad we see eye to eye on this one.

[comtech968]

Jim Fassal doesn't look so bad now. at least he has head caching experience...seems like it will be a long year. waiting on coach to learn his job

[Om]

I watched the post game presser on Comcast and he called his passing game "good". That is pretty much as close to the definition of BS as you can get. I am glad we see eye to eye on this one.

Bull****. :cool:

[turbodiesel#44]

at least he has head caching experience...

Head cashier @ Quiznos? Or did he cache his head like Walt Disney? I'm confused.

[fmorris]

I have to disagree, Bulldog. Zorn strikes me as very analytical (an X's & O's guy) with measured integrity who is fair in his assessments. He also seems very optimistic (even overly so), but the overall impression is that he's working out the bugs and moving the team in a positive direction. I couldn't find anything that strikes me as overly self bashing--he did mention the mistakes he made with two running plays and not going 'no huddle'--but it was more analytical than self loathing.

I don't have a problem with the way he shares this with the media, in fact, I think it shows a certain confidence that he's willing (and able) to point out these short comings rather than side stepping. A big part of being a leader is accepting responsibility and promoting accountability, yet he does it in a way that says, "this is where we need to focus in on and make improvements." It's not done in a way that is demeaning to players, specifically Jason Campbell, the criticisms are honest and analytical. It's right that high profile, highly paid players, are held to these standards for which Zorn is responsible.

With these Redskins coaches we're all accustomed to a certain secrecy in regards to strategic goings on, and we often learn about specific shortcomings after they're fired, leave town, etc. With Zorn it's all out on the table, and we learn of issues in real time--as they happen on the field. When failures happen we now know who didn't execute, in what situation, and where improvement is needed. I have no problem with that.

[ThomasTomasz]

I have to disagree, Bulldog. Zorn strikes me as very analytical (an X's & O's guy) with measured integrity who is fair in his assessments. He also seems very optimistic (even overly so), but the overall impression is that he's working out the bugs and moving the team in a positive direction. I couldn't find anything that strikes me as overly self bashing--he did mention the mistakes he made with two running plays and not going 'no huddle'--but it was more analytical than self loathing.

I don't have a problem with the way he shares this with the media, in fact, I think it shows a certain confidence that he's willing (and able) to point out these short comings rather than side stepping. A big part of being a leader is accepting responsibility and promoting accountability, yet he does it in a way that says, "this is where we need to focus in on and make improvements." It's not done in a way that is demeaning to players, specifically Jason Campbell, the criticisms are honest and analytical. It's right that high profile, highly paid players, are held to these standards for which Zorn is responsible.

With these Redskins coaches we're all accustomed to a certain secrecy in regards to strategic goings on, and we often learn about specific shortcomings after they're fired, leave town, etc. With Zorn it's all out on the table, and we learn of issues in real time--as they happen on the field. When failures happen we now know who didn't execute, in what situation, and where improvement is needed. I have no problem with that.

No doubt about it. It seems that Zorn has realized that the fans really care about this team, and puts things out there that help us understand what's going on, and he's being accountable for his mistakes. He has not done this yet, but Zorn should be careful when he criticizes a player in public, and not go overboard with it. Overall, I have been impressed with how he handles the players, and handles the media.

It beats having coaches who have a difficult time (to say the least) like Denny Green, Jim Mora Sr and Brian Billick. While they make for great soundbites and commercials, they look like fools when dealing with the media.

[TSO]

The thing about all this is, as much as Zorn has been rightfully critical of the players and himself in public, he's also given credit when and where it's due. It's just honesty, period.

I was always taught honesty is the best policy. As long as he's not given away the playbook or gameplan, who cares? I think the way he's handling the media may actually benefit the team in that their faults will be open for everyone to see which will cause them to work harder to improve them. I think we all know how we act when we know people have a certain negative view about ourselves (that happens to be true). Most good people work to change that view. The weak ones just don't care and stay that way.

What I'm trying to say is, if the player/coach makes a mistake and then has everyone know what he's done, then still doesn't improve... that says a lot about said player/coach. If that player/coach can hide behind his head coach, he can then make mistakes and not feel so bad about it since he only has to answer to those closest to him. Furthermore, we'd be naive to think that every team in the NFL can't tell what weaknesses we have whether or not Zorn comes out and says it. I think it actually works to our advantage that he does come out and say it so they know we're working on it, and just might come out against them with the problem solved, negating their gameplan to attack whatever weaknesses they percieved we had.

I think the easiest way to look at it is through results. I loved how classy Gibbs was with the way he never gave the media ONE negative thing to say about his players. However, that didn't stop them from saying it, nor did it stop any other team from attacking our weaknesses. I think Zorn's honesty is just that: Honesty. It won't change a thing, other than the fact that now players and coaches will have to man up to the public more often.

[SoCalSkins]

Bull****.

Not so much BS anymore is it?

The signs were there from day 1.

[Merlin Emrys]

Bulldog the soothsayer has spoken. This post is very interesting in light of recent developments.

[pjfootballer]

The one thing that has bothered me is, after the 6-2 start, it took him another 6 games with 5 losses to realize that his play calling was part of the problem. That's just being stubborn and it's the only thing I do agree with the players on.

[TheLongshot]

The one thing that has bothered me is, after the 6-2 start, it took him another 6 games with 5 losses to realize that his play calling was part of the problem. That's just being stubborn and it's the only thing I do agree with the players on.

Just a theory here, but I think Zorn has been so focused on just getting his players to execute on a consistent basis that I think varying the playcalling has become secondary. Later in the season, he was talking about how he was adding things to the offense and that he might have to back off of that to focus on what we can execute now. Better to just have a few plays that your players can execute well rather than a bunch that you can't execute well at all at. Course, even then we aren't executing all THAT well. (Tho, I think last Sunday I saw some improvement.)

[Merlin Emrys]

(Tho, I think last Sunday I saw some improvement.)

Do you mean in the game in which the Redskins scored 13 points against the Bengals? I guess scoring more than 10 points is all we have to be positive about. Still, to what specific improvents are you refering?

[TheLongshot]

Do you mean in the game in which the Redskins scored 13 points against the Bengals? I guess scoring more than 10 points is all we have to be positive about. Still, to what specific improvents are you refering?

I refer to the offense getting into the red zone 3 times in the game. I also think they would have done more before that if it weren't for a fumble and a penalty taking away first downs.

I didn't say I saw any grand improvements, and plenty of issues remain.