Washington Redskins Coach Jim Zorn

Joe Gibbs won three NFL titles during his first career stretch with the Redskins. For his second time around he took Washington to the playoffs in two of his four seasons. Gibbs retired rather than being fired with owner Dan Snyder trying to persuade him to stay on as head coach. Snyder said he "tried very, very hard" retain Gibbs as coach. "This is something none of us wanted to see happen," the owner said. Gibbs signed a five-year, $27.5 million deal when he returned to be the Washington Redskins coach in 2004, having been lured away from his second career as a NASCAR owner. Gibbs says he will continue to serve as an adviser to Snyder, but in a very small capacity.

The Washington Redskins hired Jim Zorn as their coach after the end of the 2008 season. It took a long month and a lot of searching to find a replacement for Joe Gibbs. At 54 years old, Zorn has some NFL experience under his belt. The Redskins said he agreed to a five-year contract with Washington as their coach.

Dan Snyder is the owner of the Washington Redskins NFL team and is known for spending big money on big names but not necessarily big talent. Snyder's last three coaches were Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier and Joe Gibbs. None had a fabulous winning record, although Gibbs took the Redskins to the playoffs in two of his four seasons. Zorn becomes the sixth coach under Snyder, who bought the team in 1999.

Zorn is as a longtime favorite in Seattle. He was the franchise's original starting quarterback way back in 1976. He played nine seasons with the team and returned as an offensive assistant from 1997-98 and again as quarterbacks coach in 2001.