As Long As Norv Turner Is Head Coach, Chargers Won’t Win A Super Bowl
July 28, 2009 – 10:45 am by Jimmy Shapiro
Some guys just aren’t meant to be head coaches. There’s no shame in that. The list of guys that were great coordinators and average to lousy head coaches is long. Wade Phillips, Marvin Lewis, and Norv Turner come to mind immediately. Turner is thought to be one of the best offensive coordinators of all time and his players, especially Troy Aikman, swear by him as an offensive genius. Even Alex Smith was somewhat serviceable when Norv was his OC.
Being a head coach entails a different set of skills that many coordinators just don’t own. I would put Norv Turner in that category. Turner inherited arguably the most talented team in the NFL in the San Diego Chargers after the Marty Schottenheimer divorce. I think even Rich Kotite could coach this squad into the playoffs. If Turner was the OC and they had a better head coach they would be the favorites to win the 2010 Super Bowl.
Norv Turner joined XX Sports Radio on the first day of training camp to disuss the upcoming season.
On the excitement building heading into the preseason:
“Last year was a very unique year, we had 10 or 12 guys coming off major injuries. A bunch of those guys, we didn’t know if they were going to be able to play when the season started. A bunch of them, 4 or 5 of them weren’t able to play until 3 or 4 games in. I think this is the healthiest we’ve been, obviously the most experienced this team has had, it’s the most mature this team has been. We have good young players I think to complement our veteran players. I think there’s a real excitement because of those things.”
On last season:
“It was a roller coaster…The games are so close and we lost the first 2 games of the season on the last play of the game. We had a real opportunity to start the season 4-0 and we were 2-2 and when you do that, you put yourself in a hole. After that, we had a lot of different things happen to us and we didn’t play well in the middle of the year. We were fortunate to finish the way we did and get into the playoffs. I hope everybody grows from that experience and understands as we start the season, the first game of the season, the second game of the season here, whichever game it is, it could come down to the last play of the game and we have to be prepared to win it on the last play.”
Listen to Mike Ditka on XX Sports Radio with Darren Smith
Tags: AFC West, football interviews, NFL, Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers
