The Saga of Norv Turner

The more Norv changes the more things stay the same

I have always had a soft spot for Norval Turner. His coming in 1994 marked a new era in Redskins football and his seven-year tenure in Washington marks maybe the last time an underachieving NFL coach was allowed so many chances. Norval's Redskins always seemed to disappoint but the anger never seemed to roll up to the coach, general manager poor Charley Casserly was most often the brunt of fan anger in those days for poor player selection. Until Dan Snyder came along in 2000 there rarely was talk of firing Norval. Jack Kent Cooke liked him and if JKC likes you you stay.

Les Carpenter has a piece up in today's Washington Post about the start of Norval's tenure as the Chargers coach, his third head coaching position following two unsuccessful years in Oakland and six and 13/16ths in Washington.

Norval has appeared in the digital pages of Curly R before. Here and here we discuss the possibility of Norval becoming the Cowboys head coach (ultimately Wade Phillips took the job) one on Norval's track record with defensive coordinators and one on the touchy proposition that if hired, Norval would have had to work with an offensive coordinator (Jason Garrett) hired by Jerral W. Jones.

In February I wrote a long piece profiling Norval, Cam Cameron and Marty Schottenheimer. Cam was Norval's former quarterbacks coach in Washington and Marty is the man that succeeded Norval in Washington and was then succeeded by Norval in San Diego. Finally, here I wrote that predictions of San Diego's success with new head coach Norval and of San Francisco's without old offensive coordinator Norval were both premature.

Shorter Curly R: Cam learned Norval's system as Norval's quarterbacks coach in Washington and Norval actually brought the system to San Diego in 2001 and Cam was hired to carry it on for the Chargers after Norval left to become the Dolphins offensive coordinator and so now Norval is replacing the system that was installed to approximate the system he installed before the system that he installed was replaced with a look-alike system that he is now replacing. I know me some Norv.

Chargers general manager AJ Smith has apparently been a fan since Norval's seasons with the Cowboys, of which there were only three but one was a Super Bowl and his success attracted JKC's eye and despite misgivings about hiring A COWBOY FOR CHRISSAKES became the Redskins head coach after the sad sad experience that was head coach Richie Petitbon.

But apparently Norval still stings from his days in Washington, or at least how his days in Washington have been remembered in the traditional media.:

[Norval] complained that the past has not accurately been chronicled, especially his tenure with the Redskins and the memories of his late-season firing in 2000 after a team predicted to win the Super Bowl fizzled out at 7-6.

"We turned that program around in 1999," he said. "We won the division, we were 6-3 when Brad Johnson got hurt. There were a lot of things going on. We had three owners, you know? There's a lot of things that happened there. I took over a team that was 3-13 [in his first season], but we fought through a lot of struggles to get back to where we were a playoff team and a respectable team. I don't want to sound defensive, but that one is not portrayed the way it should be."

Well first Norval you took over a 4-12 team and made it 3-13 and when you say you turned the program around, getting to that playoff year of 1999 took six full seasons. That was unaccepable then and it sure as shit is now, you won't get the Spanos family to give you six years to win a Super Bowl with that team. You have maybe three.

So I don't agree but I understand. Year after year the Redskins underachieved and Norval never got fired and never really got better. And there were some weird milestones that stick in the minds of Redskins fans.

In 1994, Norval's first year, the Redskins lost every home game, a feat that had never been accomplished and has not since.

In 1996 the Redskins opened the season 7-1 before finishing 2-6 and out of the playoffs.

In 1998 the Redskins opened the season 0-7 and were never in the hunt.

In 1999 the Redskins finally made the playoffs but then lost in the second round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when Dan Turk's snap was bad, robbing Brett Conway of a chance at a 52-yard field goal to win it.

And the quarterback controversy. Heath Shuler was never embraced by the fans and despite shortcomings as a young QB Gus Frerotte was loved (I still wish I had bought an In Gus We Trust t-shirt in 1996, RFK's last season) yet for three years the team floundered with the bonus baby vs. the underdog.

Come 2000, Dan Snyder treated Norval in the mode in which coaches have come to expect being treated: Dan had spent 100 million dollars and Norval was expected to make a run and when he didn't he was fired (to be fair the Redskins were still in contention when Norval was fired and replaced in the interim by Terry Robiskie).

The problem is not how Norval's time in Washington is remembered but rather that it simply lasted too long. Fish, house guests and average coaches start to stink after seven years.

But here's the real nugget, a tell-all tidbit buried on the second page of the piece:

Turner was asked about Daniel Snyder, the Redskins owner who seemed to torment him for so many months, and before the question could be finished he shook his head. That time doesn't bother him, he said. That's just what happens in this business he has chosen.

"If I bought a team and I told the guy, 'You got to play this quarterback, he might decide to get another coach,' " Turner said.

Someone asked if Snyder really did that.

"Sure he did," Turner replied.

Another reporter, unfamiliar with the history of Turner's downfall in Washington, asked whom Snyder wanted to play.

"We were playing Brad Johnson through that period of time," Turner said, then paused. "He liked, um, Jeff George."

And the men gathered at the table with Turner broke into uproarious laughter. The coach smirked.

That story bolsters this account, that Jeff was signed against Norval's wishes, than Dan wanted to see Jeff George play and that Dan threatened to fire Norval over more (or rather, less) than not making the playoffs. What happened with Brad Johnson giving way to Jeff George on Dan's whim replayed itself at the coaching position when he yanked proven winner Marty Schottenheimer for flavor of the month Steve Spurrier after the 2001 season. (lol even at 0-3 Dan was swearing that he would not fire Marty no matter what happened)

I wish Norval all the best and whereas I don't think the Chargers will be 4-12 I don't believe they will get over the top with Norval, I hope I'm wrong.

Header image: Norv Turner by Denis Poroy / AP from here. Cowboys offensive coordinator Norv Turner: file photo from here. Jack Kent Cooke and Norv Turner at Norv's hiring: uncredited photo from here. Heac coach Norv Turner and quarterback Brad Johnson: Jeff Kowalsky / AFP from here.