I know I'm going to end up hating this poll and the comments below. The statements about Norv Turner that I hear from Chargers fans always make me want to scream. There's something about the guy, and I tend to believe it's the way he's been talked about by the national media, that makes people think he's a bad guy or a buffoon.
However, there are a good amount of Charger fans that are happy with the job he's done. I happen to be in this group, and I want you to look at a few stats and tell me if you see a bad coach:
- Norv spent nearly 7 seasons as the coach of the Washington Redskins. Considering the team was 4-12 the year before he was hired, we can assume he was brought in to "right the ship" and therefore we can throw out the Redskins 3-13 record in his first season. Taking that out, he finished at an even 46-46 in the regular season (1-1 in the playoffs) in his Washington coaching tenure. Averaging an 8-8 season over 6 seasons (with a team that had been 4-12 when he took over) is not something that a bad coach would do.
- His two seasons in Oakland can be ignored. The season before he took over the team was 4-12 and the season after he left the team was 2-14. As everyone knows, Oakland is a team that lacks talent and does not offer a stable work environment.
- In three seasons as the Chargers Head Coach, Turner has won two-thirds of his regular season games (32-16) and has won the division each season. He is 3-3 in the playoffs with San Diego. Hired to assist in the development of Philip Rivers, the QB's rating has gone from a respectable 92 in 2006 to an unbelievable 105.5 in 2008 and 104.4 in 2009.
Here's what the above tells me: Norv is not the coach that is going to get an untalented team to the playoffs. There are a few coaches that can do that, albeit inconsistently, and Norv is not one of them. However, as the level of talent on the team improves (from Oakland to Washington to San Diego), so does his success. So as long as you give Norv a team that has the talent to win, he's going to guide them towards fulfilling that potential.
Just my two cents. Vote as you'd like.