The never-ending feud between San Diego general manager A.J. Smith and head coach Marty Schottenheimer was bad enough, even before Schottenheimer was fired last week, but the team's decision to name 49ers offensive coordinator Norv Turner as its new head coach is worse. Hands down.
The problem here is that Turner, while being one of the nicest gentlemen you'll ever meet in the NFL, simply is not an effective head coach. He proved that in Washington, where he went 49-59-1 with the Redskins from 1994 to 2000. He proved it again in Oakland, where he lost games (a 9-23 record) and his team's respect in a matter of two years. Now that he has his third shot at leading a team, I'm pretty sure he's going to confirm one more time that he's not the man for this kind of job, regardless of how much talent he inherits in San Diego.
Here's what makes this situation mystifying: everything Turner did -- or didn't do -- as a head coach seemed to evaporate as soon as a couple of head coaching vacancies opened up around the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys were seriously considering him for their job before they hired former Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, and now the Chargers have fallen in love with Turner. He was a valuable offensive coordinator for both the Cowboys and Chargers at one point, but that's the only thing he has going for him at this stage of his career. And that really isn't much when you think about what the Chargers are asking him to do, which is take the team to a Super Bowl.
After all, for every lesson that Turner provided to a Hall-of-Famer, such as former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, there are probably 15 or 20 low points that any Washington Redskins fan easily can recall during his tenure with that team. For a coach who's built a reputation for molding an innovative offensive system that has produced huge years for stars such as Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Ricky Williams and LaDainian Tomlinson, Turner inexplicably couldn't get more out of Randy Moss during the '05 season, Moss' first year in Oakland.
I realize that Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy struck a major blow for mild-mannered coaches everywhere, but that doesn't mean that everybody with a low-key personality can lead their team to a Super Bowl. Moss was so disgusted with Turner by the end of '05 that he stormed out of Turner's last meeting with the team.
Now I seriously doubt that any player in San Diego will pull that same stunt. That team is filled with plenty of class acts who understand what it takes to win. But don't for a minute think they aren't capable of tuning out a coach who isn't capable of reaching them. Remember, this team isn't guaranteed to repeat its 14-2 record of this past season. The Chargers followed a 12-4 campaign in '04 by missing the playoffs entirely in '05, so they could easily take a step backwards. And if they start slowly, I don't see Turner as the man who can steady that team and push it back in the right direction.
Simply put, Turner is a wingman by nature. His best role on any team is that of offensive coordinator. He's more gifted at crafting plays than rallying a team. He's better at relating to a quarterback than communicating with a roster of 53 players. Put him next to a dynamic, cutthroat personality, such as his former boss in Dallas, Jimmy Johnson, and the man will shine. It's within that role that his true gifts reveal themselves, his ability to become a dependable confidant who can wrangle every last bit of potential out of a talented athlete. I saw that with the way Turner handled 49ers quarterback Alex Smith last season. After one offseason with Turner, Smith transformed from a quarterback who had no clue of how to succeed in the NFL to a confident, effective signal-caller. That's what a Norv Turner can do for a team.
What he can't do is change his track record or his nature. The bottom line here is that the Chargers don't need a head coach who can develop young players. They need a head coach who can take all their collective talent and guide it to a championship. There were certainly justifiable questions as to whether Schottenheimer would ever be that guy. But if the people in San Diego think they found an upgrade with the hiring of Turner, they need to start preparing for plenty of disappointment
