Ol' Ricky's Redskins Tales - BINGO!
I think the Burgundy Revolution started with the Redskins hiring Sherman Lewis to help beleaguered coach Jim Zorn in 2009. Just days earlier, Lewis was retired and delivering meals on wheels and calling bingo games. Now he was an offensive consultant who quickly became the offensive play caller.
Everybody saw this as the joke it was. The Redskins wanted to fire Zorn, but not pay the final two years of his contract. They wanted to frustrate him into quitting, but Zorn hung in there. It was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen at Redskins Park.
Two things right up front – it’s not Zorn’s fault he was made head coach. It was owner Dan Snyder and GM Vinny Cerrato’s for not having a Plan B when Joe Gibbs retired. And, Lewis was minding his own business in retirement when given crazy money just to consult. He never lobbied to call plays.
After a 2-2 start with the offense ranking 27 and the only first-half touchdown coming on a fake field goal, Snyder hired Lewis, who hadn’t coached in five years. Lewis was part of the West Coast Offense in Green Bay and Seattle during his 22-year coaching career and OC on the Packers’ ’96 championship. He was also OC in Detroit and Minnesota.
Cerrato said Lewis was just a fresh pair of eyes, but Zorn suffered a black one 13 days later when Lewis was named the OC and calling plays over Zorn. Well, Zorn did have that swinging gate play in his back pocket. Players walked around wondering who was Lewis?
Well, thing went to hell as you might expect. Washington lost the next four games. The season saw a lot of field goals. Washington finished 4-12 and Zorn, Lewis and Cerrato were all gone and never returned to the NFL.
Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan arrived, but those are tales for other days.
Tomorrow, Ol’ Ricky remembers the ding-dong daddy of them all – Pepper Rodgers. Lots of stories in my book and these are the types of tales I’ll tell on my “Pizza and Pigskins Tours” later this summer.
