Cal Poly Pomona Star QB Zorn Named Redskins Coach
Jim Zorn, the greatest player to come out of the long-gone Cal Poly Pomona football program, is the surprise choice as coach of the Washington Redskins, it is being reported tonight.
Here is the Associated Press story on Zorn and the Skins.
Zorn wasn't the first -- or last -- Cal Poly Pomona football player to reach the NFL, but he was the most successful. By miles.
He had huge stats at the "college division" level, which we might expect.
In 1973 he was named Southern California College Division player of the year despite playing for a 4-6-1 team. That's because he passed for 2,367 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Zorn holds the CPP record for total offense (5,314 yards), which we fairly safely can assume will never be broken, considering the school gave up football in 1982, after fielding teams since 1956.
Zorn was among those who tried to save the Pomona football program. When it was in crisis, in the early 1980s, he was at the height of his NFL celebrity.
Other Cal Poly Pomona players who made it to the NFL: Linebacker David Grayson (Browns, Chargers), defensive back J.C. Pearson (Chiefs, Vikings), punter Joe Prokop (Jets, etc.) and linebacker Al Smith (Oilers).
Smith was the last Pomona player to leave the NFL, in 1996.
As a player, that is. Pomona's program lives on in the form of the Redskins' new head coach.