Meet Your New QB Coach Baltimore - Jim Zorn

The last time we heard about Jim Zorn he was being fired. The firing happened immediately when he got off the plane after the last Washington Redskins game in early January. They replaced him with Mike Shanahan within a few days and Zorn was left wondering what was going to happen to his NFL coaching future.

To be fair, Zorn fell into the head coaching job in Washington. Dan Snyder wanted a big name coach like Cowher at the time but no one wanted to take the job. Snyder took to long to pull the trigger so Zorn was bumped from offensive coordinator to head coach. Many thought Snyder overlooked Gregg Williams, who since has gone on to turn the Saints into a Super Bowl-caliber, turnover machine.

So with the Ravens QB coach Hue Jackson heading for greener pastures in Oakland (not really greener but he will be the offensive coordinator there) it was announced today who would replace him. Jim Zorn. Now before everyone freaks out or Steelers fans start mocking us (Alex!), let's realize what title he got here. He will not be calling plays, Cam Cameron still has that job (probably will never get a head coaching gig thanks to that 1 win stint in Miami a couple years ago). He is going to be doing a job he knows how to do. I know Jason Campbell may not have made the Pro Bowl but let's take a look at his numbers.

Campbell has had to deal with a different offense implemented every season since he has been in Washington. However, with Zorn at the helm, Campbell's numbers improved. It was the team that was poor. The year before Zorn got there Campbell's stats looked like this; 13 games, 60% completions, 2700 yards passing, 12 TDs, 11 interceptions and a QB rating of 77.6. Each of those stats have gone up with Zorn in charge. 2008 saw Campbell limit his turnovers and improve his mechanics with this season having career highs in every passing statistic. Unfortunately that included turnovers. This was mostly without the services of Chris Cooley, the Pro Bowl tight end missed most of the season with a leg injury. Campbell is not Joe Flacco, he did not lead a team to back to back playoff appearances and his owner actually wants him as the franchise QB.

So let's look at this as a positive. Zorn knows how to handle QB's. He is a former NFL QB who has done this job for years. Zorn is on a long road back to being trusted to lead another NFL ship. If he turns Flacco into a Pro Bowler like he did with Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle, it may be sooner then you think.