WOODY: Skins should cut ties with Portis

If Clinton Portis were a high school student, his report card would contain the note, “A delight to teach.”

Portis is bright, funny and entertaining.

From the media’s standpoint, Portis is a delight to interview.

He’s polite and says what is on his mind.

As a running back for the Washington Redskins, Portis is a headache to coach.

Portis and coach Jim Zorn are having a difficult time co-existing. One of them must leave after this season.

It’s time for Portis to go.

After Sunday’s debacle in Cincinnati, the Redskins can finish no better than 9-7. The playoffs are only a mathematical possibility.

A 7-9 record is a distinct possibility. Even if the Redskins finish 8-8, they can be mediocre and miss the playoffs as easily without Portis as with him.

The distractions he can create are not worth the trouble they cause.

The Redskins have averaged 11 points, and Portis 66 yards rushing, in the past six games. They are 1-5 in that span.

Instead of questions being raised about Portis’ role in the Redskins’ decline, the heat is on Zorn.

The Redskins’ skid, combined with the impatient nature of owner Dan Snyder in dealing with coaches, makes that unavoidable.

This is Zorn’s first season as a coach. It wasn’t smart to judge him on his 6-2 start — you’re never as good as you look when things are going well — and it’s not fair to judge him on the 1-5 stumble — you’re never as bad as you look when things are falling apart.

Portis is in his fifth season in Washington. The Redskins are 37-41 in the regular season and 1-2 in the playoffs with him.

Portis is not the entire reason the Redskins are about to fall off the face of the NFL earth. But he is one of the reasons.

His complaints about being removed from the lineup against Baltimore on Dec. 7 were understandable. Afterward, Portis had his say. That’s where it should

have ended.

Instead, it spilled into his weekly appearance on a Washington radio station.

Portis sarcastically called Zorn, the architect of the offense, a “genius.” This was after Portis spent the preseason talking about how “wonderful” the new attack was under Zorn.

As much as Joe Gibbs likes Portis, do you think he would put up with this type of behavior? Certainly not.

Zorn had a private meeting with Portis. The players had to deal with questions about Portis’ attitude and “star” treatment as they prepared for the Bengals game with both starting offensive tackles out with injuries.

After all that, Portis needed to have a memorable day and lead his team to victory. Instead, he gained 77 yards against one of the worst defenses in the league.

Yet Portis’ seat is not even warm while Zorn’s grows increasingly hot.

Zorn has not been perfect, and it is far from clear that he is the best coach for the Redskins. But his job is not made easier when a player undermines his authority and questions his intelligence.

Zorn deserves a chance to coach the team on his terms and with as few prima donnas as possible. Then, everyone will see what Zorn really can do.

Everyone knows what Portis can do. It is time to let him do it elsewhere.

Paul Woody is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.