On the edge with Jim Zorn

Rachael, 28, went on to play tennis in college. Sarah, 24, became a national champion rower. Danielle, 20, plays lacrosse at Gordon (Mass.) College. Isaac, 13, also has made lacrosse his sport of choice for now.

“I think I had the best childhood,” Rachael says. “My dad was very creative. We did stuff people didn’t usually do. We went skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing. He pulled us behind the car on our skis. It kind of just seemed normal. We all played tons of sports. He never pressured us to do anything, but when we decided to do something, he made sure we did it to the end and did our best.

“My dad’s life isn’t football. His family is his life. Football happens to be his job. When he had time off, we were at home. I remember telling him once that he should play golf like the other dads. He said that he would rather be with us.”

Zorn might rather be the coach of the Seahawks. He’s spent more than half of his adult life in Seattle, where he still is very much a celebrity and where his passion for the outdoors is more widely shared.

Still, there was no way he was going to turn down Snyder’s offer to move to Washington, D.C.

“Jim believes that God gave him a gift to play and coach football,” Trezise says. “Since I’ve known him, he thought he was going to be an NFL head coach someday.”

When the Redskins kick off this season on Sept. 4 in prime time against the defending champion New York Giants, Zorn will finally get to live out that dream.

(To read profiles of Jim Zorn’s five predecessors as Redskins coach, click here.)