This weekend, Zorn’s career goes full circle

SEATTLE

A first-time visitor strolling through the grandiose confines of Qwest Field, the Seattle Seahawks’ impressive stadium only a deep pass away from the emerald waters of Elliott Bay, may peer at the dividing line between the upper and lower levels and notice the franchise’s Ring of Honor.

There are 10 names there, the second of which is that of Jim Zorn, who was the franchise’s first quarterback and is now the coach of the Washington Redskins.

Zorn played for the Seahawks from 1976 to 1984 in a place decorated not so poshly as this; Zorn roamed the hard turf fields of the dilapidated Kingdome, where great slabs of cold concrete and “The Wave” were accouterments to his playing career.

But if those who know him best answer sincerely, at least a part of them would have to admit they believe Zorn could once again don an NFL uniform and reignite a career that helped a fledgling organization establish itself.

It’s not so much an impressive physique that would allow Zorn to turn back the proverbial clock. It’s more a boundless youthful exuberance that belies his 55 years.

Seattle coach Mike Holmgren, under whom Zorn was the Seahawks’ quarterbacks coach for the past seven years, often jokes about Zorn’s penchant for riding his bike to work, particularly on game day, when he’d have to cross one of the floating bridges from his home on the city’s east side and meander his way downtown.

When Zorn took the job with the Redskins, Holmgren warned him that it was going to be far more difficult to commute on two wheels from Northern Virginia to Landover.

“What impresses me about Jim is he still thinks he’s 18 years old,” Holmgren said. “That’s kind of how he operates: riding a bike to the games, watching them warm up before the games. He absolutely believes that if his ankle wasn’t so wrecked, he could still play. He laughs easily. He’s smart. He’s young. He’s young at heart. He has a bundle of energy.”

Holmgren talks about Zorn hang gliding and sky diving. Redskins running back Rock Cartwright says Zorn consumes a caffeinated drink before games to focus his attention. Zorn tells a story of once finding a dead coyote on the road, bringing it home in a bag and skinning it so his family could have a pelt.

And then there was the Slip ‘n Slide. Holmgren has always told his assistants to try to come up with new football-related drills that will keep the players interested throughout the long season.

So Zorn contacted Mariners first baseman John Olerud and asked him to help teach Matt Hasselbeck and the team’s other quarterbacks how to slide properly when scrambling. He brought the Slip ‘n Slide to practice, watered it down and received odd stares from everybody else on the field.

“He said, ‘You’re going to look over there, and you’re going to see us doing this,’ and my first reaction was, ‘Why are we doing this?’” Holmgren said. “And he really said, ‘Well, Matt, when he decides to slide, he’s really just a train wreck, so we have to kind of get him used to it.’ The players had fun doing it. I applauded his creativity and trying to think about how to improve the position.”

In a world of secretive, serious personalities, perhaps it is Zorn’s unorthodox approach that has permitted him to make the unconventional move from a position coach directly to a head coach. And perhaps it is his humble naivete and forthright demeanor that prevent others in the profession from begrudging Zorn what he has achieved.

In fact, there are those in Seattle who now pine for Zorn as Holmgren prepares to retire after this season. That certainly was not the case in January, when the future Hall of Famer announced he was taking a self-imposed sabbatical from the game and that 2008 would be his 10th and final season as Seattle’s coach.

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