Something to prove
SAN DIEGO -- From sideline to sideline, the San Diego Chargers are ideally equipped to make a Super Bowl run.
But what about between the headsets?
If there’s a question about the team -- one that went from embarrassment to embarrassment of riches in only a few seasons -- it’s whether Norv Turner has what it takes to be a championship head coach, or closer to a ballast bag on an otherwise sky’s-the-limit season.
Is Turner an ideal leader for underachievers, or merely an underachieving leader, one whose Washington and Oakland teams were a combined 58-82-1?
“People would call me and tell me, ‘Do you realize you hired a losing coach?’ ” said Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith, who, after firing Marty Schottenheimer, selected Turner over assistant coaches Gary Gibbs of New Orleans, Mike Zimmer of Atlanta, Mike Singletary of San Francisco, Ron Rivera of Chicago -- who later signed on as San Diego’s linebackers coach -- and Rex Ryan of Baltimore.
“I’m well aware of who [Turner] is, and I know what he did in Washington and Oakland. But he’s never coached the Chargers. Second, I know what he can do and he’s a tremendous offensive mind -- that’s what everybody thinks -- but I think he’ll be a terrific head coach for the San Diego Chargers.”
Smith, who was barely on speaking terms with Schottenheimer last season, said he knows he can work with Turner, having done so in 2001 when Turner was offensive coordinator of the Chargers.
“He’s got an eye for the future, knows talent, very bright,” Smith said. “I’m excited that if he has good football players, with us together -- very important to have a GM and a head coach working together to win a world championship -- I’m excited about rolling up my sleeves and getting after it with this guy.”
Turner, 55, has the reputation of a good Xs and O’s coach, but that didn’t result in him winning in Oakland, where his teams finished 5-11 and 4-12 and barely showed any offensive spark. In his last six games there, before he was fired in January 2006, the Raiders offense managed only 51 points and six touchdowns.
In the starting lineup were capable players such as receivers Randy Moss and Jerry Porter, running back LaMont Jordan, and occasionally on-the-mark quarterback Kerry Collins.
“We didn’t score enough points with the firepower we have,” Raiders owner Al Davis said after firing Turner.
What’s worse, the Raiders were thoroughly thumped in division play, winning only one AFC West game in two seasons under Turner.
“I think he did what he could,” linebacker Danny Clark said at the time. “Ultimately, everybody involved didn’t get it done. Unfortunately, this is a production-based business and if you’re not winning the weight falls on someone.”
Asked recently if, with the benefit of hindsight, he now knows why Turner didn’t win, Davis scowled and seemed annoyed by the question.
“I’m not going to get into that right now,” he said. “That wouldn’t be fair. I’m not emotionally involved right now with that. That’s maybe for a book.”
With the Chargers, Turner will be expected to win right away. There’s no such thing as rebuilding with a team that finished 14-2 last season and -- aside from two new starters at inside linebacker -- is nearly identical to the 2006 version.
As Turner is well aware, a gaudy regular-season record is nice, but success in the postseason is what really matters. Last season, the Chargers were a one-and-done playoff team, losing at home to New England in a divisional game. San Diego has not won a postseason game since reaching the Super Bowl in the 1994 season.
“The true success in this league is measured with success in the playoffs and ultimately winning a Super Bowl,” said Turner, who is 1-1 in postseason games as a head coach.
Even so, the message in the San Diego locker room is unwavering: In Norv we trust.
“People don’t understand that he knows how to win, and he knows how to get the best out of his players,” linebacker Shaun Phillips said.
Unlike Schottenheimer, known for his thundering and theatrical pep talks, the relatively soft-spoken Turner -- a former college quarterback who backed up Dan Fouts at Oregon -- can easily slip into the background. It’s far easier to envision him calmly dissecting a play in a quarterbacks meeting than getting nose to facemask with, say, an offensive lineman who keeps moving early.
No matter, say the Chargers.
“We don’t need a guy to come in and start screaming and hollering and giving us inspirational speeches every few minutes -- and Norv’s not that type of guy,” said defensive tackle Luis Castillo, who’s quick to point out he’s still an admirer of Schottenheimer.
But Schottenheimer is long gone. And, in this case, one coach getting the boot means another gets a chance to re-boot. It might be Turner’s last chance to prove he’s not just an Xs and O’s man, or the guy who helped bring along Troy Aikman in Dallas. Now he’s in position to see if he can squeeze the potential out of the most talent-laden roster in the league.
“I don’t know much about Norv’s past and what kind of teams and players he dealt with,” linebacker Shawne Merriman said. “But everything starts over fresh with us. He has something to prove, just like we do.”
Nine Chargers made the Pro Bowl last season. They had the offensive player of the year in LaDainian Tomlinson, could have had the defensive one in Merriman -- a campaign spoiled by a steroid suspension -- and had a legitimate rookie-of-the-year candidate in left tackle Marcus McNeill. Quarterback Philip Rivers said he knew from the first team meeting that Turner was the right coach for this group of veteran players. The players didn’t yawn, roll their eyes or fidget. They simply didn’t have time to; this was short-attention-span theater.
“You usually think in training camp it’s going to be a long meeting, but he was there five minutes,” Rivers said, snapping his fingers. “He was like, ‘Hey, let’s go to work. What, do you want me to stand here and talk to you all day? Tell you all the things you already know?’ The guys like that.”
Like his meetings, Rivers said, Turner is brief and to the point when he deals with players.
“He doesn’t try to sugar-coat anything,” he said. “And his philosophy in practice is, if we’re doing something, it’s for a reason. We aren’t going to meet for two extra hours just so we can say that we met more than anyone.”
That said, Turner is always happy to talk. Players rave about the way he’ll stop and chat, how friendly he is, how he takes the time to learn the small details of their lives. He truly has an open-door policy.
But, just like the last coach, that won’t be what counts. The Chargers can’t just be a beast in the regular season. They have to start making a splash in the postseason. And, to a large degree, that falls on the coach. And if they don’t?
Turner’s door will be open. And his office will be empty.
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Turner’s Record
Turner has reached the postseason only once as a head coach, losing in the second round:
*--* Season Playoffs Year Team W-L-T W-L 1994 Washington 3-13-0 0-0 1995 Washington 6-10-0 0-0 1996 Washington 9-7-0 0-0 1997 Washington 8-7-1 0-0 1998 Washington 6-10-0 0-0 1999 Washington 10-6-0 1-1 2000 Washington 7-6-0 0-0 2004 Oakland 5-11-0 0- 0 2005 Oakland 4-12-0 0- 0 TOTALS 58-82-1 1-1 *--*
