12/21/24
February 19, 2007
Turner to coach Bolts.: The man won two Superbowl rings as the O Coordinator in Dallas. However, he has a combined record of 58-82-1 as a head coach in Washington and Oakland. All of the people interviewed by the Chargers (to my knowledge) had at least one Superbowl ring as a player or coach. Did they pick the right one?
Somebody forgot to take their meds cough cough lents cough. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out next year. I think it will play out like this: Norv takes over the offensive control, the o-coordinator he hires is basically his assistant o-c. He loses control of the big picture and the Chargers struggle to make the playoffs. With a tougher schedule guaranteed next season due to their success this year it will come down to the last week of the season. He relies on the passing game and the Bolts go home early. Just my two cents, speculative of course. I do not think it was a good hire, but due to the timing of Schottenheimers firing they didn't have a whole lot to choose from. Spanos and Smith blew this big time. I do not anticipate seeing the Chargers in the Super Bowl anytime in the near future.
posted by urall cloolis at 07:50 PM on February 19, 2007
I think Spanos and Smith just put a big smile on Mike Shanahan's face. Being a Raider fan I like the idea of the Chargers suffering with the Norv.
posted by sleber at 08:35 PM on February 19, 2007
Well...Ron Rivera is out of a job now, so I wouldn't put it behind the Bolts to go grab Rivera and put him in "Head Coach Training" now...
posted by chemwizBsquared at 08:36 PM on February 19, 2007
posted by danjel at 08:59 PM on February 19, 2007
The scoop on Norv, according to the local (Dallas, and obviously biased) media was that he would be great to help a young QB (Romo here, Rivers there) bloom. It'll be interesting to see how Norv fills out his staff this late in the off-season (assuming AJ Smith gives him control), but here, and probably in San Diego, there are going to be constant comparisons between Turner and Wade Phillips. Good on Norv though. He just inherited a Super Bowl contender. While I don't know the terms of his contract, I imagine he'll have a very short honeymoon period and he'd better produce come playoff time. Kind of like Wade, but with a much stronger team.
posted by Ufez Jones at 09:08 PM on February 19, 2007
Rivera's been hired as the Chargers' linebackers coach. This is just bizarre.
posted by SummersEve at 05:28 AM on February 20, 2007
A good team/roster can make people tend to forget mediocre coaching (at least until that team gets into the playoffs). I just don't want to see the team that has a pretty-much dominating defense and, of course, LT, go in and win their games and then have people trying to say Turner has somehow morphed into some great head coach.
posted by dyams at 06:25 AM on February 20, 2007
As much as I didn't like Schot, this is a bad move for the chargers. Can't see this guy going 14-2 next year with him at the helm. If this is best they could do, should have kept Marty.
posted by robi8259 at 06:26 AM on February 20, 2007
NFL hiring practices really baffle me. Why do owners continually hire coaches with losing histories? It just doesn't make any sense.
posted by YukonGold at 06:56 AM on February 20, 2007
Not the smartest move for the Chargers.
posted by dbt302 at 07:48 AM on February 20, 2007
This hire is a joke. The only logical explanation that I've come up with is that Chargers GM AJ Smith now has a head coach in place that will listen to what he has to say and won't have anything interesting to bring up in conversations dealing with football personal. Here you have two coaches (with the newly departed Schottenheimer having a winning record) where one was hired based on the GM's idea that he'll get the last word in edge-wise, on who should be playing while the other would raise his opinion. At least this is just my opinion which doesn't make it fact but this just was a questional move.
posted by BornIcon at 08:37 AM on February 20, 2007
This is a horrible move. I could not stand Norv in any of his other head coaching positions. Hes a two time loser in my opinion and I just dont think he has what it takes to be a head coach in this league. Don't get me wrong, he is a GREAT assistant or coordinator for any team cause he does know football, but his head coaching record speaks for itself. I didnt understand getting rid of Marty after one of his greatest seasons. He has a hall of fame record, just no ring. Sorry LT you got caught in the middle of this political crap
posted by bryon at 08:52 AM on February 20, 2007
I really thought they would make the move to get Pete Carroll, given the timing of Schottenheimer's firing. I'm not sure why that didn't happen -- if it was attempted at all -- but I'm sure a lot of fans are disappointed by the choice of Turner, who hasn't been too inspiring in his previous head coaching gigs. TJ Simers seems to sum up a lot of the reaction when he writes: "A wax likeness of Tom Landry would've been a more inspiring hire, especially since it appears Chargers GM A.J. Smith has made it clear with this decision he will really be the team's coach." Just to play devil's advocate, though, maybe this is a good move for the Chargers. Turner installed the offense that they currently run, and was apparently part of the decision-making team that shipped the draft pick for Michael Vick to Atlanta, netting LDT and Brees in return - a wise move if there ever was one. Turner offers experience and stability, allowing San Diego to build on what they've done so far - bringing in a high-profile coach like Carroll would have likely meant blowing up the playbook and starting over. It's essentially the status quo, with the bonus that your coach and GM don't hate each other. And if Turner doesn't have the rep for bringing home NFL titles as head coach, well, he's not the only one. Still, were I a Spanos, I would have counseled AJ Smith to get over his personal issues with Marty and give it one more season to work out. But that's just me, and I'm no Spanos.
posted by Venicemenace at 11:41 AM on February 20, 2007
And he now has an awesome linebackers coach who was shoved out of Chicago thanx to lovie! go figure I wish turner and rivera the best of luck
posted by luther70 at 12:10 PM on February 20, 2007
al the former Lions head coaches available, and San Diego picks Turner...interesting
posted by glmpllc at 12:27 PM on February 20, 2007
The Charger ownership has just pressed the self destruct button. At least with Marty you can go to the playoffs and loose. With Norv Turner they won't have to worry about losing in the playoffs, because they won't be making them.
posted by Atheist at 01:28 PM on February 20, 2007
I really thought they would make the move to get Pete Carroll But why him even? He's experienced great success at USC but look at what he did in New York and New England. I guess I see the Sean Payton's and Eric Mangini's of the league and as the future. They've worked in proven systems and are branching out. There's only so many times you can look to something that didn't work in the past and expect to gather different results. NFL coaches only have two career paths - stay put and achieve greatness or get fired over and over again.
posted by YukonGold at 02:15 PM on February 20, 2007
Norv Turner is a perfect example of the Peter Principle. He's an excellent offensive coordinator, but he's not a good head coach. Also, the Chargers lost a lot of their coaching staff after the playoffs. (Didn't both the offensive and the defensive coordinators leave?) A new head coach plus a a new coaching staff probably won't result in a trip to the playoffs.
posted by kirkaracha at 02:34 PM on February 20, 2007
I'm thrilled that Norv Turner is in and Marty out in Bolts-ville! But then again, I'm pretty biased as a Chiefs fan. Belicheck had a pretty mediocre record with the Browns before he spent time with the Tuna in New Jersey and went on to great success with the Pats. Maybe we're all wrong about Turner and he'll break out with the Chargers. But, I DOUBT IT!!!!!!!!!!
posted by ChiefsSuperFan at 03:00 PM on February 20, 2007
I don't see how this a horrible move. Likely, it was the only move the Chargers could make. Much like the Raiders hiring or Art Shell. When no one dynamic or young is left, you go with the stop-gap guy. And that guy is Norv Turner. San Diego will use him to keep things afloat for one season, then promote Rivera or go after Lovie Smith (can't recall if he signed an extension) or Bill Cowher or whomever looks attractive next January. They've got a young enough team to sacrifice one season to get a top coach. No worries.
posted by forrestv at 03:55 PM on February 20, 2007
When Norv Turner was with the Cowboys he had future Hall Of Fame Players, I take nothing away from the Chargers they have the best running back in the NFL and a great defense but, Norv Turner is NOT a good Head Coach his record speaks for itself granted the Chargers COULD have another great year and if they made the playoffs Norv could get them to a Super Bowl ( He has two rings with Dallas ) but I think the real weakness in San Diego next year will be Phillip Rivers i.e. Ben Rothlesberger.............
posted by jaclp at 08:56 PM on February 20, 2007
Ok, so they hired a compliant veteran coach instead. The Chargers get so little push from their AFC West opponents (5-1) that they can afford to do this. I can't believe it will help them when they travel East for the playoff game against the resurgent Bengals
posted by Newbie Walker at 02:44 AM on February 21, 2007
Not good for the Chargers.