Clinton Portis suddenly seems to love -- well, at least tolerate -- his genius head coach again.
Speaking in Tampa as part of a Pro Bowl PR Blitz, Portis (or was that Dolemite Jenkins?) said that he and Zorny are "together," and that he's ready to put everything from last season behind him (or behind Sheriff Gonnagetcha?).
If that endorsement wasn't lukewarm enough for you, Portis was positively medium when talking about why he was OK with Zorn coming back: "I think he's going to have the opportunity to learn. You don't have to go through the massive change of learning a new playbook, coming in early, preparing to do this, preparing to do that, gotta learn this."
Not having to learn, study, or practice something new is, perhaps, an even more important consideration for Clinton. He's pretty much decided that he's not going to participate in off-season workouts. Although, in fairness, he has left the door open -- if he feels like it.
Of course given the sway he has with Danny Snyder and his prickly relationship with his genius head coach, not too many Skins fans would bet a Johnny Rockets strawberry milkshake on him actually showing up.
Portis' comments were a springboard for Skins Hall of Famer John Riggins to rip into his least favorite running back. When told of Clinton's comments, Riggo (perfectly playing the role of the old fogey that the early '80s Riggo would've eaten alive) said, "I believe that unless he changes the way he views himself and views his contributions to the team, that could be problematic for the Redskins."
Clinton may have temporarily mended things with Zorn, but it's clear that he's going to have his work cut out for him to woo the Diesel back into the fold.
Chris Needham used to write at Capitol Punishment, but the off-season workouts got to be too much for him.
