Jim Zorn had the unique opportunity to be the very first quarterback in the Seattle Seahawks' history. While the expansion team struggled to thrive in the NFL, he led by example, always showing up to work with a smile on his face and a relentless determination within his soul. But while he displayed a fierce love for the game, the game did not always love him back. This is his story.
The Early Years
Jim Zorn was born on May 10, 1953 in Whittier, California. He excelled in numerous sports while attending Gahr High School such as baseball, basketball, and track and field. However, he was best at football and after receiving no scholarship offers, took his talents to Cerritos Junior College.
It wasn't smooth sailing. Midway through his sophomore year, he was benched over a clash of leadership styles with his coach. Fortunately, by then he had done enough to garner the attention of nearby Cal Poly Pomona.
He proved to be all that the Broncos could hope for. He led the nation in total offense as a junior and was promptly named Little All America. Things were rougher as a senior in 1974 as the Broncos went through a coaching change. Still, the man who moonlighted as the Broncos javelin thrower during track season put together a respectable final campaign, throwing for 1,783 yards.
The NFL was not impressed and after fighting for a roster spot as an undrafted rookie, he was the last cut made before the Dallas Cowboys began the 1975 season. With no other offers on the horizon, all hope seemed lost for the eternal optimist.
The Seahawks
Jim Zorn only had to wait a year before another opportunity in the NFL arose. With the league expanding into two more markets, new opportunities were born for those on the fringes of the growing enterprise. Needless to say, it was far easier to join the newborn Seattle Seahawks than it had been to join the established Dallas Cowboys and soon Zorn was slated as the new franchise's very first starting quarterback.
It wasn't easy going up against all of the grizzled and established teams while leading one of the youngest and least talented squads in the league, but Zorn had a secret weapon: wide receiver, Steve Largent. Together, the rookies would set the NFL on fire with their near-telepathic connection. By the time Zorn was replaced in the starting lineup seven years later, Largent had earned two second-team All Pro nods and been invited to three Pro Bowls. Their connection was a major reason why Largent would eventually be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Despite their chemistry, Zorn and Largent could only do so much and soon their rookie season was over with Seattle sporting a 2-12 record. Other than their budding friendship, the only other silver lining was the fact that Zorn led the league with 439 pass attempts.
In Week 11 of that year, Zorn showed the NFL what he was made of by outperforming Chargers great, Dan Fouts. Down by 13 early in the second quarter, Zorn zipped a five yard touchdown strike to Don Testerman and lofted a 27-yard score to Largent a drive later to take a 14-13 halftime lead. After the Chargers opened the third quarter with a field goal, Zorn again found his friend Largent from 10-yards out to take a 21-16 lead going into the fourth.
The Chargers took command of the final quarter when Fouts found sleek-footed receiver Charlie Joiner from 17 yards. Zorn gave up an interception to defensive end Fred Dean who rumbled 22 yards down the field for the pick-six to give the Bolts a 30-21 lead. While Zorn did find David Sims fora 16-yard touchdown, it was too little too late for the Seahawks as they fell 30-28. Despite the loss, the team was inspired by Zorn's 291 yard, four touchdown afternoon.
What was even more impressive was that his numbers were better than Fouts' 199 yards and one touchdown. In the years ahead, Fouts would light up the scoreboards with an aerial circus, far outpacing quarterbacks of Zorn's stature. But on this day, it was Zorn who outpaced Fouts. It was at that moment when they realized that they had found their quarterback.
He completed fewer passes the following year, but he did cut down on his interceptions, coughing up 19 instead of 27. Zorn's 3,283 passing yards and 56% completions were good enough to garner second-team All Pro honors in 1978. Even though he had played well, the Seahawks barely missed the playoffs, finishing 9-7, a game behind the division champion Denver Broncos.
While Jim Zorn would enjoy four more years as the Seahawks' starter, he would never again bring his team so close to the playoffs. In 1979, as he threw a career high 505 passes for 3,661 yards and 20 touchdowns against 18 interceptions, his successor was playing in his final year of college.
In 1980, Milton College's Dave Krieg went undrafted and signed with Seattle as a free agent. He would sit on the bench for the next three and a half years, learning Seattle's playbook and the life style of a starting quarterback in the NFL. While Zorn led the Seahawks to back to back to back seasons far out of the playoffs, Krieg soaked it all in, dreaming of the day that he would snatch the offense from its original signal-caller, Jim Zorn.
After Zorn went one-for-eight with two yards and an interceptions in Week 8 of the 1983 season, Krieg took over for good. Down 24-0, Seattle outscored Pittsburgh 21-3 while Krieg completed 13 of 20 passes for two touchdowns. After that performance, Zorn's time in Seattle was essentially over. He would spend just one more year in the seaside town before leaving for Green Bay in 1985. While in Wisconsin, he would lead the Packers to three wins in five starts, completing 45.5% of his passes for 794 yards and throwing four touchdowns against six interceptions.
After a year away from the game, he came back as a replacement player during the 1987 player's strike, starting the final game for Tampa Bay before the regulars returned. In the final game of his playing career, Jim Zorn completed 20 of 36 passes for 199 yards. Despite giving up two interceptions against fellow replacement players, his Bucs beat Minnesota 20-10. After that game, Jim Zorn jumped right into coaching.
The Coach
With his playing career over, Jim Zorn began a long odyssey as a quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator. He went from Boise State (1988-1991) to Utah State ( (1992-1995) to the University of Minnesota (1995-1996) before making the leap to the NFL in 1997 with the Seahawks. After that year in Seattle, Zorn went to Detroit (1998-2000), witnessing the last year of Barry Sanders' legendary career and the Lions' transition after his sudden retirement before heading back to Seattle (2001-2007) where he watched as Mike Holmgren transform an also-ran into a juggernaut. After six years spent learning under one of the game's great teachers, Jim Zorn felt ready to take over his own team and accepted the head coaching job with the Washington Redskins in 2008.
Unfortunately, he stumbled and failed too much in the nation's capital, going 12-20 in two years before being fired after the 2009 season. After spending 2011 and 2012 as the Chiefs' quarterbacks coach, but was relieved of his duties when new coach Andy Reid brought in his own people in 2013. In 2020, he was hired as the XFL's Seattle Dragons head coach and general manager. However, the league folded after five games and he now spends his time hosting podcasts with Steve Raible for the Seahawks.. His legacy lives on in the Seahawks Ring of Honor, where he was inducted in 1991.