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Scott Turner, Ken Zampese bring a sense of Déjà vu to the Redskins

By Rik Forgo

24 Oct 1999: A close up of Coach Norv Turner of the Washington Redskins looks on from the sidelines during the game against Dallas Cowboys at the Texas Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The Cowboys defeated the Redskins 38-20. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport
24 Oct 1999: A close up of Coach Norv Turner of the Washington Redskins looks on from the sidelines during the game against Dallas Cowboys at the Texas Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The Cowboys defeated the Redskins 38-20. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 03: USC quarterback Sam Darnold talks with Ken Zampese of the Cleveland Browns during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 03: USC quarterback Sam Darnold talks with Ken Zampese of the Cleveland Browns during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Coaching Progeny: Ken Zampese’s results

If fate can be measured on potential, hiring the progeny of these offensive masterminds may turn out well for the Redskins. In their careers so far, Ken Zampese and Scott Turner have produced solid results.

Zampese started out as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles under Ray Rhodes in 1998 and followed him to Green Bay a year later where he would work alongside quarterbacks coach Mike McCarthy, who was just tapped as Dallas Cowboys head coach.

The following year Zampese joined the St. Louis Rams under Mike Martz’s “Greatest Show on Turf” years. In 2003 he joined the Cincinnati Bengals as quarterbacks coach, where he would settle in for 13 years. He started out helping Jon Kitna earn Comeback Player of the Year award in 2003 and then oversaw the development of both Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton. He helped scout USC quarterback Carson Palmer, and the Bengals then drafted Palmer with the first pick in the draft.

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Palmer was stellar in his second year with a 101.1 passer rating and 32 touchdowns. His 67.8 completion percentage led the league. Palmer recorded Pro Bowl year in 2006, and he led the team until 2011.

As he had before, Zampese scouted then-TCU quarterback Andy Dalton, whom the team picked in the second round. Dalton managed a pedestrian 49.5 QBR his first year as a starter, but he steadily improved each year and in 2015 recorded a QBR of 72.5, the highest of any Bengal quarterback ever.

Measuring quarterbacks by the tutelage skills of their closest coach can be tenuous, but it wasn’t like Zampese was getting veteran QBs. Both Palmer and Dalton were talented, but they were both also fresh out of college and green.

After spending 2017 as offensive coordinator with the Bengals he took the familiar role of quarterbacks coach with Cleveland and began mentoring quarterback Baker Mayfield in 2018, and the rookie responded by leading the team to a surprising 6-7 record in his 13 starts. But Freddie Kitchens took over the Browns in 2019 and Zampese was released; Baker Mayfield regressed after that, especially in the red zone.

It became evident that Zampese was the secret ingredient that made Baker Mayfield competitive, as Jeff Schudel of the Cleveland News-Herald lamented in October. Now Zampese will begin mentoring Dwayne Haskins.

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