Jim Zorn

At 70 years old, Jim Zorn has this physical status:

James Arthur Zorn (born May 10, 1953) is a former American football player and coach who currently serves as head coach and general manager of the Seattle Dragons of the second incarnation of the XFL.

Zorn was a left-handed quarterback, and is best known as the starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks for their first eight seasons.

He was the quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks from 2001 until the 2007 season, before being hired by the Washington Redskins to be their head coach starting in the 2008 season. Shortly after being fired following the 2009 season, Zorn was hired as quarterbacks coach of the Baltimore Ravens.

Zorn was released as quarterbacks coach of the Ravens on January 27, 2011, and then joined the Kansas City Chiefs as their new quarterbacks coach for the 2011 season.

Early years

Born in Whittier, California, Zorn attended Gahr High School in Cerritos, where he competed in football, baseball, basketball, track, and speed skating. He didn't start playing organized football until his sophomore season. The next year, Zorn broke his wrist after being put in at the end of a game to play quarterback. He became a starter as a senior in 1970 and graduated in 1971.

Zorn played at the junior college level at Cerritos College for two years. He was benched midway through his sophomore season in 1972 because the head coach didn't like his leadership style.

In 1973, he transferred to Cal Poly Pomona after accepting their half-scholarship offer. As a junior that season, he registered 2,367 passing yards and 16 touchdowns, receiving Little All-American, Little All-Coast, and Southern California College Division Player of the Year honors.

As a senior in 1974, Zorn's play was affected by coaching changes, posting 1,783 passing yards and six touchdowns. He finished his collegiate career with ten school records, 5,314 total yards, 4,150 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, 1,164 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.

Zorn also threw the javelin for the Broncos' track team.

Personal life

Zorn and his wife, Joy, have four children: daughters Rachael, Sarah, and Danielle and son Isaac. Jim and Joy Zorn are active in Medical Teams International and Pro Athletes Outreach. Medical Teams International is dedicated to implementing and supporting programs that address the causes and effects inadequate of health care worldwide.

Jim Zorn currently resides with his wife on Mercer Island, a suburb of Seattle. The couple is active in the local community, and attend Evergreen Covenant Church.

Zorn is noted for his interest in mountain biking, kayaking and other outdoor sports. He has continued to mountain bike even as he approaches the age of 70. When he was a player with the Seattle Seahawks, he experimented with building bikes for off-road riding with the help of the owner of Mercer Island Cyclery.

Zorn was inducted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame during a pregame ceremony prior to Washington's game at Seattle on November 23, 2008.

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Professional career

In 1975, Zorn was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys, the same year they had their coveted Dirty Dozen draft. He was the Cowboys' last cut two days before the 1975 season to make room for running back Preston Pearson, who had been waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had a try-out with the Los Angeles Rams but was not activated. In 1976, the Seattle Seahawks signed him as a free agent, reuniting with Dick Mansperger, the Cowboys' director of player personnel the previous year.

He would play for the Seahawks from 1976 to 1983, before being named by Dave Krieg and moved to second-string quarterback midway through the 1983 season. He played second-string/backup quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks (1983–84), the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (1985), and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987), before retiring from football after the 1987 NFL season.

In 1976, he signed as a free agent with the Seattle Seahawks after being out of football for a year. Zorn is closely associated with his all-time pass target, Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent. Largent was the first Seahawk to be inducted into the team's "Ring of Honor" (1989), and Zorn was second (1991). Following the team's inaugural 1976 season, Zorn was named AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year by the National Football League Players Association. He was also the Seahawks' team MVP, throwing for 12 touchdowns and rushing for four touchdowns. His three straight 3,000-yard seasons were the best in team history, having been shattered by Matt Hasselbeck in 2005, and he became the first Seattle quarterback to record back-to-back 300-yard games, which he accomplished twice.

He was named second-team All-Pro for the 1978 season, when the Seahawks had the third-best offense in the league.

Dave Krieg was drafted by Dave Krieg midway through the 1983 season, the year the Seahawks first made the NFL playoffs. Zorn spent time with the team as a second-string quarterback until the 1984 season.

Zorn was one of his day's most popular scrambling quarterbacks, and by NFL.com in 2008, he was named as the eighth best mobile quarterback.

In 1985, the Green Bay Packers signed Zorn to their second-string quarterback position. The Packers finished 8-8, 2nd in the NFC Central, but did not make the playoffs, but did not make the playoffs. In the off-season, Zorn was cut from the NFL and signed on as a backup quarterback with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1986, where he appeared in nine games before being released once more.

In 1987, Zorn returned to football with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He appeared in one last game as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL lockout before officially retiring. The 1987 Buccaneers finished the season 4-11 and missed the playoffs.

Zorn threw for 21,115 yards and 111 touchdowns in the NFL, finishing 53% of his passes. He also ran for another 17 touchdowns.

Coaching career

Zorn returned to college football as an assistant coach after his playing career was over. He started his career at Boise State University in the Big Sky Conference, where he served as the quarterbacks coach for four seasons under head coach Skip Hall from 1988 to 1991. From 1992 to 1994, he served as Utah State's offensive coordinator. Zorn coached the quarterbacks at the Minnesota Golden Gophers football from 1995 to 1996.

Zorn joined the Seattle Seahawks as quarterbacks coach under head coach Dennis Erickson in 1997. He spent three seasons with the Detroit Lions (1998-2000) under head coach Bobby Ross, and was instrumental in the development of rookie quarterback Charlie Batch in 1998. Batch's 88.3 passer rating this season ranked as the fourth-best rookie record in NFL history.

In 2001, he returned to Seattle and worked with head coach Mike Holmgren and offensive coordinator Gil Haskell in coordinating the team's offense while also advancing the team's quarterback training. Matt Hasselbeck, who set a franchise record of 3,841 passing yards, was tutored by Zorn tutoring in 2003. When joining Zorn as the only Seahawks quarterback to pass for over 3,000 yards in three seasons, Hasselbeck became the franchise's most effective passer (85.1 percent). Hasselbeck set Seattle single-season records for attempts (562), completions (352) and yards (3,966) in 2007. On his way to his third Pro Bowl pick, he also threw for a career-high 28 touchdowns.

Zorn was hired by the Baltimore Ravens in 2010 as head coach of the Washington Redskins, replacing Hue Jackson, who later transferred to the Oakland Browners. quarterback Joe Flacco's career highs in touchdowns (25) and quarterback rating (93.6), as well as a career-low ten interceptions were recorded under Zorn. The Ravens also went from 9-7 to 12–4 on the season's last season. Despite this, Zorn was fired by the Ravens at the end of the season. Flacco gave Zorn his permission and assistance, despite vocally opposing the deposition.

He was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2011 as their quarterbacks coach and stayed with him through the 2012 season. When Andy Reid took over as head coach following the 2012 season, he brought in a whole new teaching staff.

Joe Gibbs, the team's head coach, was fired in January 2008 after Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs resigned in January 2008. Zorn was hired as the team's new offensive coordinator after Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs retired in January 2008. Snyder made him the Redskins' new head coach on February 10, 2008, in a surprising move because he had never been employed as a coordinator at the pro level. Since 1999, he was Snyder's fourth head coach since he took over the team. In week 2 of the 2008 NFL season, Zorn earned his first professional coaching victory over the New Orleans Saints. Zorn was the only Redskins head coach to win his first game against the Dallas Cowboys in week four of the 2008 season (2008 was the Cowboys' last year at their Irving, Texas stadium, which opened in October 1971). For the 2009 season, the Cowboys made their way to Cowboys Stadium. In 1971, George Allen was playing in Dallas against the Cowboys for his first game as the Redskins' coach, but not at the Cotton Bowl. (A.K.a.A.C.)

Zorn complemented the Redskins' bruising running style with his version of the West Coast Offense, a combination that helped the Redskins finish eighth in the NFL in rushing yards per game (130.9). Zorn began his Redskins career by leading the team to a 6–2 record in the first half of the season, but the Redskins went 2–6 for the first time. However, Zorn's new offense featured four starters who earned Pro Bowl recognitions. Clinton Portis, a running back for the NFL, came in second in rushing yards (1,487). Chris Cooley was drafted by the team in his second straight Pro Bowl appearance and led the team with a career-high 83 receptions for 849 yards. Offensive Chris Samuels made his sixth Pro Bowl appearance, his third in franchise history, while fullback Mike Sellers earned his first Pro Bowl selection in his eighth NFL season.

The Washington Redskins relieved Zorn of offensive play calling duties, assigning them to assistant coach Sherman Lewis following the Redskins' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on October 18.

It was discovered that Zorn had been suspended shortly after the San Diego Chargers' loss in the early morning of January 4, 2010. In neither of his seasons as head coach of the Redskins, he did not make the playoffs. Mike Shanahan, the former Broncos coach, had him suspended. Jim Zorn has since appeared in a series of interviews with local Washington, D.C. newspapers in which he expressed disappointment in the treatment of his dismissal.

Zorn was announced on February 25, 2019 as the Seattle Dragons' general manager and head coach. Since the league's bankruptcy and auction, he was not retained.

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