Buffalo May Force Early End to Zorn's Season

Early this week, the Buffalo Bills fired head coach Dick Jauron. Buffalo has only managed a 3-6 record despite the offseason acquisition of Terrell Owens and has failed to make the playoffs so far this century. Buffalo waisted no time in their search for their next coach contacting Mike Shanahan and reportedly making plans to contact Bill Cowher and Mike Holmgren.

For most of the season, the spotlight has been on Washington's coach Jim Zorn who seemed the most likely to get fired. In order to put a stop to the rumors, vice president Vinny Cerrato gave Zorn a vote of confidence. Despite Cerrato's statement, it seems clear Zorn's career in Washington will be over come the offseason due to the team's poor record and the multitude of candidates available. The problem for owner Daniel Snyder is that Buffalo has now gotten a head start on finding a new coach. With the focus on the DC job, Snyder has essentially had his pick of candidates to consider pursuing. Buffalo, however, presents a rather attractive opportunity compared to working for Snyder. While the Buffalo market may be struggling, the team still has a storied history and a big-name coach would be able to name his terms. Whether coaches will have control of their team under Snyder remains to be seen.

The advantage Washington has over Buffalo is money. Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson has been stingy at times and is not one to write bottomless checks. Snyder, with his deep pockets and loyal fan base, needs only to ask coaches "how much?" The problem is that he can't do that with a head coach still in place. If Buffalo manages to work out a deal with someone before Snyder gets his chance, he will feel as if he missed an opportunity. With Buffalo already talking to coaches Snyder may look for ways to get rid of Zorn before the end of the season.

Snyder has been in this position before. In order to end rumors surrounding the job status of head coach Steve Spurrier, Snyder announced that he would not be fired at the end of the season. Spurrier then lost the remaining three games being outscored 85-31, including a 27-0 loss to Dallas and a 31-7 loss to Philadelphia. Despite how bad the team looked, Snyder could not publicly fire Spurrier. Spurrier, however, resigned. Cerrato has already given Zorn a vote of confidence, but Snyder may try to find a way to get rid of him. It is already suspected that taking away Zorn's play calling duties was an attempt to get rid of him and that Zorn in fact considered resigning. If Snyder feels nervous about Buffalo getting the jump on him, he may consider further action in order to get Zorn out faster.

With the coaches available, Snyder knows he has a chance to dramatically turn the team around. He desperately wants to see the Redskins win a Super Bowl and if he feels getting rid of Zorn before the season ends will help him get a new coach, he won't hesitate to make that happen.