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Tonight's game against the Redskins will represent a bit of a reunion for one member of the Ravens organization.
He'll return to a stadium he knows well, will see players that he has spent lots of time with, and might cross paths with an owner who gave him his big break in the NFL but then sent him packing.
And no, I'm not talking about cornerback Doug Dutch, who was the player shipped from D.C. in return for former Ravens quarterback John Beck nearly three weeks ago.
I'm referring, of course, to Jim Zorn, the Ravens' quarterback coach who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons as the head coach of the Skins.
Zorn compiled a 12-20 mark during his rocky tenure in the nation's capital, a tenure which ended when he was fired by Redskins owner Daniel Snyder immediately after returning home from the team's final regular season game in San Diego.
In a few hours, Zorn will be back in the stadium colored in burgundy and gold, but this time he'll be in the visiting locker room and on the opposite sideline.
"It'll be different," Zorn acknowledged earlier this week. "I don't know how weird it'll be because my responsibility - and this has happened since I was hired here - is to get these quarterbacks ready and get this offense ready in any way I can. That's what I'm doing right now.
"I got close to some of those players that are on that team, so I wish them well, but we all move on. My concentration is now to help this football team win. I'm really excited about being a part of the Ravens. That's where my concentration is."
Still, anyone who has been involved in a break-up or has gotten fired knows that it can be a little awkward when you cross paths with your former significant other or boss again.
Zorn says he hasn't spoken to Snyder since the night he was fired, but despite the way the dismissal was handled (Zorn was reportedly fired in the very early morning hours and was escorted out of the team's headquarters at 4:45 a.m.), the mild-mannered coach says he doesn't hold any animosity towards Snyder.
"What is the right way?" Zorn asked rhetorically. 'Oh, we should have a party, he should've canceled something for a week because now I'm gone.' You just get fired, thank you very much, and you move on. I really think that's how we have to handle it, or we could go sit in our rooms for a few weeks and mope and feel sorry for ourselves. It's not the way life is, really. We're called to handle difficult situations as well as glorious situations. That's the way life is."
A former NFL quarterback himself, Zorn's expertise lies in bringing the best out of young signal-callers. He helped turn Matthew Hasselbeck, a little-known sixth-round pick, into a three-time Pro Bowler during his tenure in Seattle, and now has been given the task of helping Joe Flacco take the next step in his third season with the Ravens.
Zorn admits that if given the chance, he would like to return to the head coaching ranks again someday, but in the same breath, says he's comfortable where he's at right now.
"That circumstance is either going to be there or it's not," Zorn said. "I'm not in any hurry. But if the opportunity arises, I'd like to have the opportunity. I really enjoyed it, yet if I have the opportunity to be here for however long, 10 years in the capacity that I'm in right now, I'm willing. I'm willing."
