Can Norv Turner Succeed as a Head Coach in the NFL?

Could the Third Time Be the Charm for Offensive Minded Coach?

Norv Turner is the current head coach of the San Diego Chargers in the NFL. He was hired to replace an arguably Hall of Fame eligible head coach in Marty Shottenheimer after Shottenheimer went 14-2 last year. That's right, 14-2 and out the door. Norv Turner is well regarded as one of the best offensive coordinators in the game of football, not just around the pros.

Turner was the offensive coordinator for two of Dallas' runs to the Super Bowl back in the early 90's under Jimmy Johnson as head coach. After this stint Turner got a head coach opportunity with the Washington Redskins. Although he did finish with a near winning record (hey, ten games under is pretty good for Norv in his six plus years at the helm of the nation capital's team Norv did make a bevy of mistakes during his tenure there.

The first and probably biggest blunder was the drafting of Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler number three overall in the 1994 NFL Draft and then awarding Shuler a huge signing bonus. At first glance this didn't look to be a mistake given the fact that Shuler was an all Southeastern Conference quarterback and contender for the Heisman trophy. However, Heath who would go on to be a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina would go on to be a real bust in the National Football League.

Turner would go on to try to reach success with other quarterbacks such as the unpredictable Gus Frerotte and well thought of and Super Bowl winning veteran Brad Johnson all to no avail. Brad Johnson considers his time in Washington one of the worst experiences of his career.

After finally being let go by the Redskins in 2000 Turner took a couple of jobs in Miami and San Diego as an offensive coordinator. Both the Chargers and Dolphins offenses had among the league leaders during Turner's stays. He would then get a second stint as a head coach with the Oakland Raiders. Turner would struggle in Oakland in just two seasons finishing with a horrendous 9-23 record over that time frame. After Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis realized he had made a mistake by hiring Turner Norv would go once again to spend last year as an offensive coordinator.