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Largent and Zorn's bond withstands time

By Bob Cohn (Contact) | Friday, June 20, 2008

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Two of Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn's daughters, Dani and Sarah, and his son, Isaac, occupy the top floor of his home in Mercer Island, Wash., near Seattle. In the basement are Kramer and Kelly Largent, sons of Zorn's best friend and former Seahawks teammate, Steve Largent.

Isaac is 13 and the others are in their 20s, creating a scenario fraught with real comedy potential - "Friends II," maybe, or a new version of "Upstairs, Downstairs" or something Seinfeldian (especially with a Kramer). "It's hilarious, really," Zorn said.

But wait, it gets even funnier. There's a dog, plus a gecko and frog that dine on a chirping supply of crickets.

How about "Animal House," in more ways than one? "They feel like they're in the Greek system," said Joy Zorn, Jim's wife. "They feel like they've got a fraternity and sorority all in one place."

With training camp a month away, Joy and Jim are there, too, presiding over the scene and figuring out what to take back to their home in Northern Virginia. They are moving east in stages. Things have been a little hectic since Zorn ascended from the Seahawks' quarterback coach to Redskins offensive coordinator to Joe Gibbs' successor as coach in February.

Only an unusually solid friendship between families could facilitate such an unusual living arrangement. Steve Largent and Jim Zorn have remained close for more than 30 years, a special relationship generally uncommon among ex-teammates in any sport. Zorn, a left-handed quarterback, and Largent, a smallish wide receiver, met in 1976 as members of the expansion Seahawks and immediately hit it off.

"We were determined to make something of ourselves and the Seattle Seahawks," Zorn said. "When practice was over, that wasn't enough. We would not allow ourselves, as athletes, to be satisfied with being mediocre."

Both were free agents cut by other teams, but they soon would become the twin faces of a new franchise and, eventually, one of the most prolific passing combinations in NFL history. Even after Zorn's release in 1985, their names remain linked in Seahawks lore.

With their playing careers long finished, Zorn, 55, and Largent, 53, also stayed connected. They forged an ironclad bond that endured in spite of distance and disparate career paths (coaching for Zorn, politics for Largent).

"My relationship with Jim is unique almost beyond the borders of football, and it's something I really treasure," Largent said.