Norv Turner Fired
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- Category: Sports
Chargers Set To Fire Head Coach
The management overseeing the San Diego Chargers has always believed that the team was stacked with enough talent to be in contention for the Super Bowl every single year. The confidence in the team talent level was made very clear when Marty Schottenheimer was fired after going 14-2. This is because the bar for success was raised, and faltering again and again in the first round of the playoffs was not going to be tolerated.
This is why Norv Turner was hired.
When Turner took over the San Diego Chargers he was able to do something that previous coaches failed at doing, he won a playoff game. Although Turner was able to have some mild success, the Chargers continued to crumble to inferior teams during the postseason. This was made very clear when the 10-point favorite home team lost to the New York Jets who were guided by a rookie quarterback in Mark Sanchez. That meltdown was followed up by missing the playoffs entirely during the 2010-2011 season.
The 2011-2012 season for the Chargers was filled with optimism when the team from San Diego came out of the gate at 4-1 in their first five games. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, everything changed. The Chargers blew leads, Rivers began throwing interceptions that killed drives and the losses began piling up.
After a botched snap in Kansas City, the Chargers missed the opportunity to kick a chip shot go-ahead field goal that would have given them a victory. The Chargers would go on to lose in overtime. The loss was followed up shortly afterward with a overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in a game that the Chargers led by 10 points. The Chargers missed a field goal in overtime in that game, giving Tim Tebow a short field that set-up the Broncos winning drive. The losses stretched to six straight games, turning the 4-1 Chargers into a 4-7 team with little hope for the postseason.
When the Chargers playoff hopes were placed on life-support they bounced back to show the league exactly how much talent they do have. The Chargers blew out Jacksonville, routed Buffalo and gave the AFC top-seeded Baltimore Ravens the biggest loss of their season. The Chargers were 7-7, playing like a team with purpose and regained a small window to make the playoffs.
Going into Detroit with their playoff hopes on the line, the Chargers, who were the hottest team in the league, simply did not show up. The Chargers were humiliated on Ford Field, losing 38-10. Yes, the Detroit Lions were a very talented team that came out with a terrific game plan, but a team as loaded as and as desperate as the Chargers should never have been dominated as badly as they were. The loss eliminated the Chargers from the playoffs, and left fans pointing at Norv Turner as the reason for yet another lost season.
"In sports, and the NFL in particular, head coaching changes occur all the time with high level of frequency", explained a sports editor for GPS Tracker Shop. "The expectations have been high in San Diego, and after two straight seasons with no postseason birth, a change had to occur."
With one game left this season, the Chargers are not going to make any decisions until after week 17. At that point in time, it appears the Chargers will move forward with the firing of Norv Turner as the head coach. The only other thing that still remains unresolved is whether the general manager A.J. Smith will also be terminated from his position. With great coaching candidates such as Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy and Jeff Fisher floating around without head coaching positions, the Chargers will likely find a big-name candidate who can step right in and take the Chargers to the next level and possible Super Bowl appearance, something Norv Turner failed to accomplish.