Norv Turner Awarded Contract Extension
by creanium on Jan 18, 2010 8:39 PM PST
in San Diego Chargers News
67 comments
It seems all the calls for Norv Turner to be fired from the team following yesterdays disappointing and heart-breaking loss to the New York Jets have fallen on deaf ears. San Diego Chargers president Dean Spanos today announced he has signed Head Coach Norv Turner to a 3-year contract extension, keeping him with the team through the 2013 season.
Said Dean Spanos:
I’m extremely proud of the job Norv has done with this team. In three seasons he’s led the team to three division titles. I’m confident that if we strengthen our roster and continue to provide Norv the assets he needs, this team will have continued success.
Despite what the large contingency of detractors in San Diego want you to believe, Norv Turner has become one of the most successful coaches in San Diego Chargers history. He currently holds the best overall winning percentage in team history at .648 (35-19), as well as the best regular-season winning percentage at .667 (32-16). The Chargers have won the AFC West division all three years under Coach Turner's tenure. Additionally, he is tied for the most playoff wins by a Chargers head coach with 3. Just this past season, he guided the Chargers to a 13 wins, the second-best win count in team history.
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He's earned it, I say.
What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the cheerleaders!
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Jan 18, 2010 8:45 PM PST reply actions
I wish I was rewarded for failure
I’d be rich.
Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a baseball; inside of a dog, it is very dark.
--Groucho Marx.
Not surprised.
I saw this one coming, but was hoping it’d be a one-year extension…plus maybe just keep him as an offensive coordinator. Turner needs to have them peaking in January and February, not November and December.
Interesting timing.
I approve, but I have no enthusiasm for this team right now. Why not wait a couple weeks?
I understand the move.
Just not immediately after a tough loss. Then half the fanbase says what planetjeffy said a few comments above.
I get it.
This is an affirmation that we were close, that we had a chance, that it all came together such that if the stars aligned just riiigh… damn. We don’t have to go back to the drawing board: a tune-up, a few tweaks.
What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the cheerleaders!
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Jan 19, 2010 9:46 AM PST up reply actions
I guess it's easy to pad your winning %
when you’re handed a 14-2 team.
What did the coach of the 14-2 team do in the playoffs?
Nothing
Norv is 3-3 cut the guy some slack. This is the first one and done he has had.
The one and only AzDuck
Hip Hip Hooray
were .500 in the post season and can’t get to the big game despite winning our division every year.
Please note that I have no problem with Norv being the coach, he has done a very good job. Just joking around a little.
He still has to make the calls to get the team to win
This team isn’t good in spite of him. This team continues to be successful because of him.
by creanium on Jan 18, 2010 9:13 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
He still has to make the calls to get the team to win
And yesterday, he didn’t.
Banned from Arrowhead Pride... and Music City Miracles certainly don't like me very much, either.
"Ah act the way ah feel." --Elvis Presley
by StrangeBroP25 on Jan 18, 2010 10:03 PM PST up reply actions
after 3 straight one and dones
this is the first time Norval lost in their first playoff game of the season. Yes it was a painful loss but last time I checked nor wasn’t the kicker nor did he throw an INT on the 28. I guess you could somewhat blame the bad penalties on him but the players are grown men and get paid a lot of money to do their jobs and do them right. I wasn’t on the sideline but I kind of doubt Norv was yelling "Head but that Prick!" "Kick that flag!" "Block that ass hole who is 20 yards away from Jackson from behind!!!!"
by Steve (Grey Suit) on Jan 19, 2010 7:15 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Wasn't it two?
Nitpicking. I rec’d your post. You’re totally right.
Norv is partly to blame for this. These guys were so cool, so disciplined, until they weren’t, and that happened on Norv’s watch. I’d put this game half on Kaeding; that’s not Norv’s fault. The other half gets chalked up to all the reasons a great team can’t always whup up on a good one, between good opposing play when it counted, a couple key whiffs, **** happens, coach shares responsibility, whatever. As for NK, c’est la vie. Good players have bad days, and when it happens to your kicker you need a blowout or you lose. Assign responsibility, then forgive.
What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the cheerleaders!
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Jan 19, 2010 10:08 AM PST up reply actions
It was only 2
But don’t think for a second that the playoff near miss in 2005 didn’t count against him whereas 3 straight appearances counts in Turner’s favor when compared to that (at least in A.J. and Dean’s eyes).
I'm the first person to admit that I'm wrong about a lot of things, but I'm going to be the last person to admit I'm wrong about what we're currently talking about.
This really isn’t even an argument.
Bolts from the Blue // "He looks like a catfish" - Nick Hardwick on Brandon Siler
Bloody Elbow // " looks like your comment violated rule #4. and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4" - Kid Nate
by Richard Wade on Jan 18, 2010 9:37 PM PST up reply actions
I like this move because
one thing we need is consistency in the coaching staff. Yes we have the talent but it takes time to build a team the way a head coach wants, and even though we chocked on Sunday, our 13-3 regular season was one of the best coaching jobs this team has had in forever.
Yeah, don't get me wrong
I love that Kaeding’s the most consistently excellent kicker during the season, but he’s also unfortunately one of the most if not the most consistently choke kicker during the post-season, but then again 85-90% of NFL games I watch are Chargers games.
Maybe he should see a psychologist to help deal with the immense amount of pressure he consistently allows to get to him when it counts most.
I agree he hasn't done well recently in postseason memory
But I don’t know if he should be gone for that bad performance
The one and only AzDuck
Except for the six in a row he’d made before Sunday.
Bolts from the Blue // "He looks like a catfish" - Nick Hardwick on Brandon Siler
Bloody Elbow // " looks like your comment violated rule #4. and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4" - Kid Nate
by Richard Wade on Jan 18, 2010 9:38 PM PST up reply actions
He's been very bad in playoff games played in the last 36 hours
by goose1 on Jan 18, 2010 9:43 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Rec’d for capturing the absurdity of the cut Kaeding bandwagon.
Bolts from the Blue // "He looks like a catfish" - Nick Hardwick on Brandon Siler
Bloody Elbow // " looks like your comment violated rule #4. and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4" - Kid Nate
by Richard Wade on Jan 18, 2010 9:44 PM PST up reply actions
I agree with the psychology thing.
It would probably help him be an even better kicker. But getting rid of him for having a bad day is silly. He’s a great kicker. And as Merriman said, if the offense was doing their job, they wouldn’t have needed Kaeding to save their butts. Failure is a team effort.
Maybe he can talk to whoever fixed Zack Greinke's head
Different sport, and different anxiety, I know. But something clicked.
I don't get why you would want to be an NFL kicker.
Other than the money, of course.
So I guess I get it. But the high stakes vs. no credit/all the blame nature of it would suck.
He made 4 in the AFC Championship game
Against the Patriots. Fair amount of pressure there. Sometimes people have bad days. He had a bad one at the worst time.
As I recall, he also made his FG attempts last year vs. the Colts and the year before against the Titans and Colts.
He missed two yesterday. Before that it was the 54 yarder vs. the Pats after the 2006 season (and, let’s face it, without an epic fail in about 16 other ways Kaeding shouldn’t have even been in that situation) and then the Jets kick that’s infamous from 2004.
So, really, we’re talking 3 FGs inside 40 he should have DEFINITELY had over the past several years worth of playoff appearances. It’s not as bad as it looks…it’s just that yesterday really really sucked, and Nate’s the easiest candidate for the blame.
Rivers’s horrific INT, some weird play-calling, and the freak INT that landed in Revis’s lap should matter just about as much as Kaeding’s leg. Not to mention every stupid stupid drive-killing penalty.
Lots of teams would kill to have a kicker as good as Kaeding. I’m going to choose to remember how great it was when he hit that game-winner vs. the Bengals a few weeks ago….pressure there, too.
The ball that landed in Revis’ lap was a game changer for sure.
Bolts from the Blue // "He looks like a catfish" - Nick Hardwick on Brandon Siler
Bloody Elbow // " looks like your comment violated rule #4. and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4" - Kid Nate
by Richard Wade on Jan 18, 2010 9:40 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah.
99% of the time, that’s incomplete. But to be fair to the Greatest Corner Ever, Revis also had VJ’s arm wrapped up pretty well on the way down, and VJ didn’t have much separation on the way up.
I think we should start claiming that the play should have been DPI since complaining about Kaeding is getting stale already.
Bolts from the Blue // "He looks like a catfish" - Nick Hardwick on Brandon Siler
Bloody Elbow // " looks like your comment violated rule #4. and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4" - Kid Nate
by Richard Wade on Jan 18, 2010 9:50 PM PST up reply actions
I think we should cut the whole roster
And get a fat coach who yells a lot and runs his mouth incessantly and a bunch of tough gridiron warriors who pound the ball and maybe a rookie QB whole can’t throw a lick. And then we should lose 7 games, back into the playoffs, and hope a much more talented team melts down to gift us an AFC championship game.
Thats a recipe for repeatable playoff success.
by goose1 on Jan 18, 2010 9:55 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
And whatever Phil Simms said
I wasn’t listening to much of it. But from what I understand this Mark Sanchez fella is basically Dan Marino.
simms is a bum...
he wasn’t ever worth crap and his analyst skills are even worse than his football skills
"that wasn't a very good start to us getting our lives together. i didn't even go to work today."
...ya'll are brutalizing me... ronnie dobbs
by notorioushbi on Jan 19, 2010 9:52 AM PST up reply actions
I'd go a more subtle.
I would argue that D’Brickashaw Ferguson told Shaun Phillips that his shoe was untied, and when Phillips bent down to tie it, Ferguson delivered a NASTY REVERSE HEADBUTT.
And then someone taped a challenge flag to Vincent Jackson's foot!
by goose1 on Jan 18, 2010 10:06 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Was that after
Whitehurst called an audible and told Gates to run straight down the field and not turn around? You may remember this play, because Rivers threw an interception.
or greene plowing through weddle.
Gary Potter: Harness in the good energy, block out the bad. Harness. Energy. Block. Bad. It's like a carousel. You put the quarter in, you get on the horse, it goes up and down, and around. Circular, circle. Feel it. Go with the flow.
Happy Gilmore: Psycho.
After the way he got trucked by Greene
Weddle will be known affectionately by me from now on as “Speed Bump”. I think its a good nickname for a DB.
weddle is too small.
Gary Potter: Harness in the good energy, block out the bad. Harness. Energy. Block. Bad. It's like a carousel. You put the quarter in, you get on the horse, it goes up and down, and around. Circular, circle. Feel it. Go with the flow.
Happy Gilmore: Psycho.
it is hypocritical
Marty, and I was no fan of Marty, got canned because he could not get it done in the playoffs. Norv is 3-3 in the playoffs. Better than Marty’s 0-2, but not a lot of data points.
Rivers has blossomed under Norv, no doubt. The offense has been great, and Rivera tightened up the D, but AJ and Dean cannot dodge the comparison. 14-2 and one/done = canned; 13-3 and one/done = extension.
If people are going to apologize for the players in the loss, recall the Patriots game. McCree’s fumble on the pick. Parker muffing the punt when he had not muffed one all season. Florence’s “personal foul” that extended the Patriots drive (more on that below); and, of course, Kaeding’s miss. Any of those happen the other way, the Bolts at least tie.
I don’t know what makes a really good head coach. If I did, I am in the wrong line of work. But I think of Wisenhut, Peyton and Belichick. Guys that have the ability to maximize the talent they have and can develop novel game plans to counter-act the other side. What killed me about Sunday is that I believe our O is better than their D. The fact that we only got 7 points, or, 10 if Kaeding makes it in the first half, when our D smothered the Jets, with our offense, we should have had 2-3 touchdowns, I don’t care how good the D. If so, game is probably over. And to have our offense stuffed for an entire quarter ( 3rd) without adjustments. To me, this raises big, big questions. Enough to get fired? Depends on what we are replacing it with. Some coach that won’t do better? Then no. But a coach who really understands the game and won’t fall into predictable patterns? Not sure who that is, but I them. And so should the SD front office.
Now a mini-rant on the Florence pesonal foul. I rewatched the game many, heart-wrenching times. On that play, I think it was a sack and fumble, with a Pats O-Line getting the fumble and trying to advance it and getting tackled for a loss. As the guy was running, the Pats TE laid a nasty block on Florence. The guy was tackled, so Florence let up, but the TE did not see it and came in and sent Florence head over heals on an borderline legal block. Literally head over heals after he had let up on the play. So he pops up and is chatting to the guy in his face. His facemask lightly grazed the other guys and up goes the flag. It was stupid by Florence but the official missed the whole play so it was very bad judgment by the official to throw a flag.
Check your history
- Marty originally got a contract extension after the Patriots loss, he wasn’t canned because of the playoff loss.
- Marty went 0-2 in the playoffs with the Chargers. That’s twice going one-and-done. Norv has gone 3-3, with only one, one-and-done in three trips.
- Marty and AJ Smith had a tumultuous relationship and weren’t even on speaking terms at the point. They communicated through other people.
- When Marty lost his core coaching staff (Wade and Cam), that made him expendable. When he wanted to bring in his son as a coach despite the objections of management, that created conflict once again.
- Dean Spanos had to make a choice: Marty or AJ. And well, looking at the body of work, it was basically obvious Marty had to be the one to leave.
Marty wanted to bring his Brother in as the DC
His son was already the QB coach.
by Steve (Grey Suit) on Jan 19, 2010 8:52 AM PST up reply actions
Maybe
Schottenheimer was also a big Rivers guy going into the 2004 draft. He loved him at the Senior Bowl.
I'm the first person to admit that I'm wrong about a lot of things, but I'm going to be the last person to admit I'm wrong about what we're currently talking about.
yes AJ had a dsyfunctional relationship with Marty
That takes two and it seems more on AJ’s side than Marty’s. While the dysfunction was a key driver, so were the two 3 point playoff losses, both involving Kaeding misses.
So they can Marty because they feel like he is not the guy to get them to championship, and that is a key source of dysfunction. Just because you like a guy and can work with him, you also have to use a similar lens to assess whether he is your guy to take you to the big dance.
Yes, 3-3 is better in three playoff seasons than is 0-2 in two playoff seasons, but still three playoffs without a SB appearance vs. two.
I disliked Marty’s coaching, disliked the choice hire him. When in doubt and pressure, he would get very conservative. I think Norv did the same thing, conservative in that he stuck with the same gameplan despite what the defense was doing.
My point is that Norv has now had three shots, and missed them. He gave Marty two, plus other factors, and canned him.
Look, I am not sure that keeping Norv is a bad move, it is just hypocritical to me.
This game really bothered me (as it did others) because we were the better, favored team and lost the game. To win the SB, we are not always going to be the better team.
You can pin this on the players, but I think the coach sets the tone and is eventually the one responsible for how the team plays.
Is there someone out there, available who can do better? I think so, but not sure who, but it is not an easy choice.
It's a stretch to pin the first two playoff losses on Norv
But such is the life of a Head Coach, all the blame, none of the praise and glory.
The Chargers entered the AFC Championship game against the then-undefeated Patriots with three star players injured: Rivers blew out his knee, Gates broke his toe, and LT had a blown-out knee as well.
They entered Pittsburgh last year, again with a hobbled LT, but Pittsburgh’s defense and conditions in Pitts proved to be too tough.
This year was the first playoff game where you can genuinely point to Norv and say, “you were a part of the problem”.
As far as getting a different coach, just remember, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It takes time for a coach to adapt to the team, get his plan in place, and let the plan come to fruition. You can’t just plug in a new head coach and expect lasting success immediately. The players have to learn and buy into the new coach’s plan, and that has taken time under Norv. Now that the team is finally clicking and dominating again, now is not the time to upend everything yet again and start over.
also on AJ...
his body of work is souring…
done a good job in later rounds, but his top picks not really panning out…
Buster Davis, Cason, English, Hester…
So if you are backing AJ, when do you start to make an assessment there
Still probably better than most, but not convinced the AJ/Turner team is leading us to bright, shining future; maybe…but not obviously.
I think AJS rocks.
Basically, AJ’s approach to the draft is excellent after the first round. It’s possible he’s too willing to reach in round 1 at the intersection of need and positional value, and ends up with mediocre early talent. But if his first-rounders become consistent performers at high-value positions, the only thing that’s really needed is for him to hit on a few late-round stars. It doesn’t bother me that Sammy Davis and Terrence Kiel didn’t pan out: if we spent the same picks on Kris Dielman and Antonio Gates, then got Kiel and Davis undrafted we’d be very happy.
‘07 is another example of a massively underrated draft (not a great one, but a good one disguised with a couple early whiffs). Hester was highway robbery, so that’s kind of like a first-round whiff. Buster Davis for a late first? Meh, too soon to call him a bust, but it’s been too long to be thrilled. Buster Davis and Legedu Naanee for a first and a fifth? Yeah, ok, I guess. Both will see a lot of action next year, and both have very obvious upside. But wait! Having them now keeps our WR corps from being a draft need just at the time that we need to replace two star RBs. RBs come out ready to play, while WRs need seasoning. Our QB/OL/WRs/TEs are ready to go now. Our HOF RB loses it, and yet the window remains wide open; just plug in the rookie wildebeest. Awesome! Also on the other side, Siler totally made up for Waters, and Waters was house-money because the Chargers had already made up for the Brees pick with Lights, NK and Oben. Now, with essentially a comp 5th (what they didn’t get for Igor) they get Kevin Burnett, and suddenly the ILB corps looks pretty good.
Same last year. Larry English could at best be the “other guy” to a demon pass-rusher, but he could do it for quite awhile, and he’s pretty much ready to go now. But Louis Vasquez is going to be a great player, Vaughn Martin shows a ton of promise, and Kevin Ellison is a bona-fide starter out of the sixth.
Pretty much, any given draft leaves AJ looking good if evaluated as a whole. Some are better than others (from the day after the ’03 draft through ’05), but not one wasted year or anything close. The only true failure has been finding a successor to Mr. Williams, and he has a) a good substitute, b) the surrounding cast of quality 3-4 DEs, and c) one more year to get a hit.
What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the cheerleaders!
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Jan 19, 2010 10:34 AM PST up reply actions
Oops. Two failures.
Learn to work with people, and can the stupid grudges. Shawne Merriman may have totally gone Hollywood, but he’s a team guy 110%, and sapping his energy by drafting his replacement (especially an unworthy one, sorry, English, but that’s life) is stupid. That guy needs a 1st/3rd tender and a clear message that he can totally earn himself a big contract. But that won’t happen (maybe the first part).
What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the cheerleaders!
by Neoplatonist Bolthead on Jan 19, 2010 10:39 AM PST up reply actions
I dont get how people can bash AJ
Fielding one of the most successful (W/L) teams over the past half decade, is nothing to shrug off in the modern NFL. There is a reason why everyone considers us “one of the most talented teams”.
If I remember the Broncos....they were one of the luckiest teams we ever played against - Kellen Winslow
Some people just aren’t very bright.
Bolts from the Blue // "He looks like a catfish" - Nick Hardwick on Brandon Siler
Bloody Elbow // " looks like your comment violated rule #4. and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4" - Kid Nate
by Richard Wade on Jan 19, 2010 11:49 AM PST up reply actions
way to keep the tone friendly...
But you may be right.
In my defense, the “most talented” usually involved references Rivers, Gates, LT (now faded) and now Jackson. You can give him Rivers (though the bump over the in-house solution of Brees is not that obvious), but some of the infrastructure looked like Butler.
But then I actually looked at his picks. Yes, 2007 was decent, ’08 worse and ’09 seemingly even worse, his record prior to that is truly impressive.
He gets to keep his job for decade just for the 2005 draft alone.
So maybe the future is brighter than my post-heart ripped out and eaten by that fat piece of turd Ryan view suggested.
Still not sold on Turner. If he can pump out another solid regular season next year, building on the upward trend vs. the prior 11-5, 8-8 downward one, maybe it is just time to get to the big dance.
My apologies.
Bolts from the Blue // "He looks like a catfish" - Nick Hardwick on Brandon Siler
Bloody Elbow // " looks like your comment violated rule #4. and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4" - Kid Nate
by Richard Wade on Jan 19, 2010 12:37 PM PST up reply actions
i don't care anymore
Marty, Norv. Norv, Marty. i just my lombardi trophy.
The peanut gallery has spoken!!!
correction...
i just want my lombardi trophy.
The peanut gallery has spoken!!!
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