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Jim
Zorn (Wire Image) |
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Former Cerritos College quarterback Jim Zorn,
who surpassed all expectations and went on to have a
career in the National Football League, was just
recently named the offensive coordinator for the
Washington Redskins. Zorn, who spent the last seven
seasons as the quarterback coach for the Seattle
Seahawks, played for the Falcons from 1971-72 as a
backup quarterback. He will now work for an organization
that also has two former Cerritos football players on
their staff. Joe Gibbs (1959-60), who recently
stepped down as the head coach and will serve in an
administrative role with the organization, and Rennie
Simmons (1959-60), who is the tight ends coach.
After transferring to Cal Poly
Pomona, Zorn was signed by the Seahawks and began in
Seattle’s inaugural 1976 season, starting all 14
games at quarterback. He went on to play nine
seasons for the Seahawks before finishing with the
team in 1984. After departing Seattle, he finished
his playing career with the Green Bay Packers
(1985), the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue
Bombers (1986) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987).
Zorn is one of only eight players inducted to the
Seahawks’ Ring of Honor. He was named NFC Offensive
Rookie of the Year (1976) and ranks second in the
Seahawks’ record book behind Dave Krieg in yards
(20,122), completions (1,593), attempts (2,992), and
touchdowns (107). His three consecutive 3,000-yard
seasons were tops in team history, since broken by
Matt Hasselbeck in 2005, and he was the first
Seattle quarterback to record back-to-back 300-plus
yard games – a feat he accomplished twice.
Zorn
joined the Seahawks as quarterbacks coach after
serving in the same capacity with the Detroit Lions
(1998-00), while he broke into the league as an
offensive assistant for the Seahawks in 1997. Zorn
spent eight seasons in the collegiate ranks before
his pro debut. He spent two seasons (1995-96) as
quarterbacks coach at the University of Minnesota
after coordinating Utah State’s offense from
1992-94. His first collegiate coaching job was as an
offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach at Boise
State from 1989-91.
While with the Falcons, he was a third
string quarterback in his freshman year and was the
back-up his sophomore season. Although he didn’t get
on the field very often, he still parlayed his
strong arm and accuracy into a collegiate and
professional career. |
