From afar, the Pro Bowl Redskins expressed optimism at the hiring of Jim Zorn as the team's head coach.

"Personally, I was actually excited because it was someone that was already involved," tight end Chris Cooley told NFL.com.

Zorn had been initially hired as offensive coordinator on Jan. 26, but he impressed owner Daniel M. Snyder and executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato enough to warrant consideration as head coach.

Said Cooley: "It was someone they were obviously happy with as the offensive coordinator. I think it's a good decision for us."

Added long snapper Ethan Albright: "Things I've heard is that he's a player's coach, an excellent teacher. Some coaches have it all up here [in the head] but can't get it across to the players.

"He's very good at communicating. He's very good at getting his ideas across to his players."

Upon hearing the news of Zorn's hire, Cooley and Albright sought out Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. Zorn served as the Seahawks' quarterbacks coach for the last seven seasons.

"I think he's going to be an excellent coach," Hasselbeck said. "But I told the guys here [in Hawaii] they better expect to work."

Cooley said he spoke with Zorn by telephone in late January, shortly after Zorn was hired by the Redskins as offensive coordinator.

"It was kind of like a get-to-know-you conversation," Cooley said. "He was hired as the offensive coordinator, so obviously we're going to be spending a lot of time together. We talked a lot about our backgrounds. And I really enjoyed our conversation."