NFL Wire Notes | Washington's moves include hiring Zorn

WASHINGTON — The Washington Redskins have virtually their entire coaching staff in place for next season — except for the head coach.

And that head coach won't be Gregg Williams. Or Al Saunders.

As for the rest of the candidates, they'll have to wait until the Super Bowl is done.

On a busy Saturday at Redskins Park, the team fired assistants Williams and Saunders, promoted Greg Blache to lead the team's defense and formally announced the hiring of Jim Zorn, Seahawks QB coach and a former Seahawks quarterback, to head the offense.

There was more. Quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor and Al Saunders' son, offensive assistant Bob Saunders, will also not return next season, a person familiar with the coaching selection process told The Associated Press.

The person also said that most, if not all, of the rest of the coaching staff was expected to remain with the team, lending credence to owner Dan Snyder's stated desire to maintain a degree of continuity following the resignation of head coach Joe Gibbs on Jan. 8.

As for the search for a head coach, the next interviews aren't expected to take place until Feb. 4, the day after Super Bowl XLII, so that Snyder can talk to assistants from the two teams involved.

"The process of selecting a new head coach continues, although no hire is planned until after the Super Bowl so as not to distract from the championship game as well as to keep open all our options," Snyder said in a statement, his first public comments on a coaching search that began more than two weeks ago.

Zorn hasn't worked with Blache in the past but said: "I've heard a lot of good things about him. I'm excited that he's got as much experience in the places he's been. He's been very competitive in every place he's been, and I think it's great that he's been named the coordinator. He's already been there."

Notes

• Lane Kiffin said he hopes to be back as Oakland coach next season, a day after reports surfaced that owner Al Davis has asked him to resign. Kiffin was asked after coaching the North team at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., whether he wanted to return for a second season as Oakland's coach. "I hope so," he said.

• New Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith hired four assistants, including receivers coach Terry Robiskie and defensive-line coach Ray Hamilton.

Smith also hired running-backs coach Gerald Brown and offensive quality control coach Glenn Thomas.

• The Cleveland Browns have made contract offers to quarterback Derek Anderson and running back Jamal Lewis, key players they hope to keep off the free-agent market.

• The NFL cleared linebacker Odell Thurman to resume working out with the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, a step toward reinstatement from his two-year suspension.

Thurman will be allowed to work out with the training staff at Paul Brown Stadium. He's hoping for full reinstatement before the team's minicamp in April.