The buzz around the Redskins was whether owner Dan Snyder, who once paid Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer and Steve Spurrier not to coach the team, will fire Jim Zorn after just one season in charge.

Zorn was a Coach of The Year candidate when the Redskins were 6-2 at midseason, but with Washington at 7-7, the silence from Snyder and vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato can't be seen as a positive.

"I have conversations with them all the time -- it's not like I'm getting the silent treatment," Zorn said. "That part of it's not dysfunctional. We're all trying to work to win, but those things ... we'll work them out internally, not externally, and we're trying to move along. I feel we have tremendous support from both those guys."

And for the first significant time, Zorn didn't talk on Monday about the players' failure to execute his scheme. Instead, he praised them and blamed himself for the five losses in six weeks that have left Washington at .500 and virtually eliminated from playoff contention.

"I don't know if I could ask any more of the players," said Zorn, who gave the players Monday off in part so they could avoid the media's negative questions. "I've got to look at myself. It's all about me. I need to check my plan of attack, and all of our staff, we need to re-evaluate what we're doing to see if we're going in the right direction. I really believe we're building a good foundation, but certainly when these (losses) get strung across the board, I certainly have to take ... the responsibility for some of these games just not turning out like we had planned."

Zorn's self-critique then turned even harsher.

"That's all a part of me being the major part of this decline, is just making sure that I take responsibility for being the head football coach, and I think a lot does fall on my shoulders, and I feel sick to my stomach thinking about having to go and do this kind of evaluation.

"I always ask the players to be honest when they look at the game and be very self-critical. So that's what I'm going to be. Where do I need to improve? Not only on Sunday, but on Wednesday and Monday. All these days ... Because it hurts. I just feel like the worst coach in America, to have to lose the way we're losing."

Zorn, who had never even called plays or been a coordinator before Snyder hired him to replace retiring Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs in February, doesn't think he has too much on his plate as the head coach, play-caller and basically, the quarterbacks coach.

"I haven't felt overwhelmed in calling plays, I haven't felt overwhelmed in speaking with (quarterback Jason Campbell) and trying to get him up to speed in the position, and I think I've gotten pretty good response," Zorn said. "But there's something wrong there."

Snyder was proud from February through October that he had unearthed a coaching nugget that so many others had missed. But now comes the big test with the Redskins crashing and Zorn's fellow head-coaching novices Mike Smith in Atlanta, John Harbaugh in Baltimore and Tony Sparano in Miami all having turned around teams that were disasters in 2007.

If Snyder retains Zorn, then perhaps the owner has really matured. But if Zorn is canned, Snyder will have returned to his usual "off with his head" mentality that earned him so much scorn until he lured Gibbs out of retirement and back to Washington in 2004.