Portis, Zorn say dispute is settled

Jim Zorn and Clinton Portis conducted a 10-minute, iron-out-the-differences meeting on Wednesday, and when it was over the coach of the Washington Redskins and his star running back declared their public dust-up to be finished as quickly as it flared up.

“There was something on my chest that I needed to get off, and I did,” Portis said of his radio show appearance Tuesday, in which he criticized Zorn for benching him during the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. “Anytime you get something off your chest that you need to get off your chest … you feel less stressed. We’re on the same page. We realize it was a situation we let go too far.”

Said Zorn, “We had an excellent conversation and got things clarified.”

The trouble began on Sunday night, when Portis spent all but two of the Redskins’ second-half offensive snaps against the Ravens on the sideline. Ladell Betts and Mike Sellers replaced him after the first series.

While Portis watched, the Redskins struggled in a 24-10 loss that marked their fourth defeat in five games and left them a game behind in the race for the final NFC playoff spot.

On Tuesday, Portis let it rip on the radio in a wide-ranging rant directed mostly at his coach.

Portis mocked Zorn, who calls the offensive plays, during the running back’s weekly paid appearance on ESPN 980, the team-owned radio station. He complained about his role in the offense, suggested he might need to be placed on injured reserve, criticized what he called a lack of communication and discussed the possibility of severing ties with the Redskins.

“We got a genius for a coach, so I don’t know,” Portis said when asked what adjustments the team needed to make on offense. “I’m sure he’s got everything figured out.”

But on Wednesday, Portis said he is “cool with everything” and that he has no intention of moving to another team.

“[Coach Zorn] said what he had to say, and I understand his point and where he was coming from,” Portis said. “I tried to get him to understand [my point]. Everybody wants to win. We both got egos. Me and Coach Zorn got a pretty good relationship. We’re going to have to continue to work together. He ain’t going nowhere. I don’t think I’m going nowhere.

“I’m a Washington Redskin. I love [owner Dan] Snyder. Mr. Snyder love me. Before this turns into a whole ‘nother ‘Clinton Portis wants out of Washington’ [thing]. I love the Washington, D.C., area.”

The on-air tirade wasn’t out of character for Portis, whose behavior once caused Zorn’s mild-mannered predecessor, Joe Gibbs, to hurl a water bottle in anger over questions about his star’s health and practice status.

“With Clinton, I wasn’t that surprised,” Zorn said. “It’s not a dire situation. He was just frustrated … based on a lack of communication.”

Zorn said he would have preferred Portis discuss the frustrations with him, running backs coach Stump Mitchell or offensive coordinator Sherman Smith before going public.

Zorn, however, said he won’t ask Portis to stop appearing on the radio each Tuesday.

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