London Fletcher was due at the podium for a press conference, but he had his hands full. His young daughter, not yet a year old, was in his arms. Jim Zorn, the Redskins head coach, had just finished his stint at the podium, and was stepping down as Fletcher stepped up.

Fletcher was more than willing to sit and talk while holding his daughter, but Zorn had an idea.

“Want me to hold her?“ Zorn asked Fletcher.

Fletcher said yes, and the two completed a successful handoff. For the next three minutes, Zorn stood there holding the little girl, gently bouncing her at times, making a face or two to keep her amused and calm at other times. The little girl looked as if she wondered why her dad was sitting down and someone other than her mother was holding her, but she did very well. So did Zorn.

There probably are other NFL head coaches who would do the same thing, but it’s difficult to think there are a great deal of them. Once training camp starts, head coaches tend to go into tunnel vision mode and the idea of standing around for three-plus minutes, holding a player’s daughter while he talks to the media is not something many would consider.

But Zorn is a bit different. He hasn’t been a head coach long enough to know that he occupies an imperial position. With a wave of his hand, he could have had any number of people charge over to hold Fletcher’s daughter, and Zorn could have gone off and spent those three minutes in deep thought about a crossing pattern or a sweep around the right end.

Zorn seemed to enjoy himself during those three minutes. He might be the type of head coach who never thinks about having imperial powers.

“I trust him,“ Fletcher said. “If he can hold my daughter, you’re pretty trustworthy.“