A Zorny situation

Few teams are as bad as the Bucs this year. Few teams are in as much disarray as the Bucs this year. Few teams have as poor management skills as the Bucs this year. Enter the Washington Redskins. Of course the Redskins do have 2 more wins than Tampa does this year; but then again if Tampa could play itself, and the winless St. Louis Rams, I'd imagine they'd have the same record.

To make matters worse, the owner wouldn't allow Zorn to call plays, but instead brought in Sherman Lewis, who was as recently as a few weeks ago, calling Bingo. The head coach has been relieved of his play calling duties in favor of a retiree/bingo caller. So he's there almost as a puppet, simply to decide whether or not to go for it on 4th down.

Now I don't feel sorry for the coach in the sense that he has a job for now. But as a leader, it is kind of sad. He is a leader who cannot lead. He is a leader who does not have the support of the management, so how can he rally the players around a vision?

Now fortunately for pastors, there is no one who owns the church and can tell us what and how to preach-I guess that would be similar to play calling. But I wonder how many pastors in a very real way feel like Jim Zorn. Many can't lead for fear of losing people to another church or denomination. Many probably feel as though they don't have the support of the "players" (congregation). Many probably don't feel like they have the support of "management" (whatever governing leadership the church has.) In a sad way, they have now have some fellowship with Zorn.

Now there is no solution for Coach Zorn. He will be getting fired at the end of the season; in fact the management seems to actually be trying to make him quit. But just as Seinfeld's George Costanza remained with the company that tried to make him quit, Zorn isn't giving them the satisfaction.

What's the solution for pastors? Support from management is crucial. Pastors can lead best when management is on the same page, and thus can feel freedom to lead-even when leading is outside the box. If the management and the head coach are on the same page, we can expect to see turn-around's such as Miami Dolphins a few years ago: from 1-15 to 11-5 the next year. The same things can happen in churches.