Turner compiled 118 wins during his head coaching tenure, which are the most for an NFL head coach with a losing record. He is also the only NFL head coach to have both 100 wins and an overall losing record.
After serving as a graduate assistant coach at Oregon in 1975, Turner was an assistant coach for the USC Trojans in 1976, hired by head coach John Robinson, also an Oregon alumnus from California. He stayed with the Trojans for nine seasons, then rejoined Robinson in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams in 1985. Turner was an assistant with the Rams for six seasons, through 1990.
Dallas Cowboys
Turner was the offensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys on Jimmy Johnson's staff when Dallas won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993, beating the Buffalo Bills twice. Turner got much of the credit for not only their success, but for helping shape quarterback Troy Aikman into a Hall of Fame player. Upon arriving in Dallas, Turner took over an offense that was dead last in the NFL in total yards averaging 255.1 yds/gm and scoring 15.2 pts/gm, his impact was immediate. In 1991 the offense jumped to 9th in total yds with 318.8/gm and scoring 21.4/gm, and 4th in 1992 (350.4 yds/gm, 25.6 pts/gm) and 4th in 1993 (350.9 yds/gm, 23.5 pts/gm). Emmitt Smith led the NFL in rushing all 3 years under Norv Turner, and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXVIII. No team in the Super Bowl era had won with the leading rusher before Emmitt Smith under Turner in 1992 and 1993. The Dallas Cowboys had a record of 21–1 in the regular season and 5–0 in the postseason when Emmitt Smith ran for 100+ yards in a game under Turner's guidance of the offense from 1991 to 1993, usually gaining the lead early with big plays from Aikman to Michael Irvin and Jay Novacek then finishing off drives with Smith and their overpowering front line. Troy Aikman had a record of 7–18 as a starter before Turner's arrival, then 31–11 in the regular season and 6–0 as a starter in the post season winning Super Bowl XXVII MVP. Michael Irvin never finished lower than 2nd in the NFL in receiving yards under Turner. The Cowboys' record was 42–13 with 3 playoff appearances, winning 2 NFC East Division Titles (1992, 1993), 2 NFC Championships (1992, 1993), 3 Rushing Titles (1991–1993 Emmitt Smith), 1 League MVP (1993 Emmitt Smith), and 2 Super Bowls (XXVII, XXVIII), in Turner's years in Dallas.
Washington Redskins
In 1994, following his success with the Cowboys, Turner was hired as the head coach of the Washington Redskins.[5] In seven seasons with the Redskins, he went 49–59–1. In 1996 Turner led the Redskins to a 7–1 start but finished the season 9–7. They made the playoffs only once, in 1999, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round. He was released during the 2000 season of the Washington Redskins on December 4, 2000 following a 9–7 loss to the New York Giants where this dropped them to 7–6 on the year despite starting off with a 6–2 record. This left Turner with the distinction of being the rare NFL head coach in the post-merger era to be fired midway through a season with a winning record (Ron Meyer of New England in 1984 was another). Turner was replaced for the final 3 regular season games by interim head coach Terry Robiskie, the team finishing 8–8 and missing the postseason. Following his tenure with the Redskins, Turner went on to serve as offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers in 2001 and for the Miami Dolphins in 2002 and 2003.
Oakland Raiders
When the Oakland Raiders fired head coach Bill Callahan following the 2003 season, owner Al Davis hired Turner to replace him. Turner went 5–11 in 2004, followed by a 4–12 record in 2005, and was fired on January 3, 2006. During Turner's two years with the Raiders, he managed only one win in intra-division games (25–24 over the host Denver Broncos on November 28, 2004).
San Francisco 49ers
On January 17, 2006, Turner was named offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, a reversal of roles of sorts: former 49ers head coachMike Nolan served as Turner's defensive coordinator from 1997 to 1999 with the Washington Redskins.
San Diego Chargers
On February 19, 2007, Turner was hired to coach the San Diego Chargers.[6] Though he had been a finalist to assume the same position with the Dallas Cowboys, a team for which he had been the offensive coordinator during the first two of three championship seasons in the 1990s, he eventually lost out to Wade Phillips,[7] defensive coordinator of the Chargers at the end of the 2006–2007 season. With a then-career coaching record of 24 games under .500, Turner took the reins of an NFL-best 14–2 record squad in the 2006 regular season with San Diego following the firing of Marty Schottenheimer.[8]
Despite promising a strong start to the season and downplaying the effects of a major coaching turnover, Turner began the 2007 NFL season by losing 3 of his first 4 games.[9] Fans chanted "Mar-ty! Mar-ty!" in a nod to Schottenheimer.[8] Subsequently, Turner was thought to be redeeming himself by helping the team to a 41–3 victory over the Denver Broncos on the road, a win against arch-rival Oakland, and a third consecutive win coming out of the bye week against the Houston Texans. The euphoria in San Diego was short-lived, however, after a road loss to the then 2–5 Minnesota Vikings. By midseason, San Diego, a franchise thought to be a serious Super Bowl contender, had not won a single game against a team with a winning record. The first such win came in Week 10, when the team upset the Indianapolis Colts. This win was followed by another road loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars. After losing to yet another winning team, running back LaDainian Tomlinson called a players only meeting to discuss the season and the coaching changes. Following this, the Chargers won 6 straight regular season games, including a come-from-behind, overtime victory versus the Tennessee Titans. The next week, the Chargers managed to clinch their second straight AFC West Division title by beating the Detroit Lions in a lopsided game at home. The win against the Broncos on Monday Night Football gave Norv Turner 10 wins on the season – matching his best regular season record as a head coach.
Turner led the Chargers to their first playoff victory since 1994 with a victory over the Tennessee Titans, followed by a second playoff win over the Indianapolis Colts.[10] The Chargers lost the AFC Championship game to the New England Patriots, 21–12.
In the 2008 season, he led the team to an improbable comeback in the AFC West starting the season at 4–8 but winning the final four games to finish ahead of the Denver Broncos, who lost their final three games.[9] His Chargers beat the Indianapolis Colts for the second year in a row in the playoffs, but fell short to the eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round game where his star running back LaDainian Tomlinson was out with a groin injury.[10]
Turner's third season in 2009 saw the Chargers continue their trend of a weak start to the season followed by a strong finish. After needing a last-minute rally to beat the Oakland Raiders in the opening week, the Chargers lost 3 of their next four games. The last loss in this stretch was at home to Denver, leaving San Diego at 2–3 and chasing the 6–0 Broncos.[9] After easily defeating divisional opponents Kansas City and Oakland, the Chargers faced a daunting stretch that included games against the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys, and Bengals, plus traveling to Denver. Turner's team swept through them all, winning nine straight games while the Broncos entered into a midseason slump. After the ninth consecutive win, a 27–24 victory against Cincinnati on December 20, San Diego captured their third straight divisional title under Turner. After a blowout win at Tennessee and a last minute victory vs. Washington, they extended their regular season win streak to 11 games, tying a franchise record from 1961. With a 13–3 record, San Diego claimed the 2nd seed in the AFC playoffs and a first round bye. The Chargers were eliminated from the playoffs in their first playoff game of 2010 with a 17–14 home upset against the New York Jets.
On January 19, 2010, Turner signed a three-year contract extension through 2013.[11] The Chargers started the 2010 season with a 2–3 record for the fourth consecutive year,[12] before dropping to 2–5.[9] On November 28, 2010, Turner recorded his 100th win as an NFL head coach. The Chargers missed the playoffs, finishing with a 9–7 record.[10]
Turner with the Chargers in 2011
On September 11, 2011, Turner recorded his 100th regular season win as an NFL head coach with a 24–17 opening game victory at home, over the Vikings. He proceeded to coach the team to a 4–1 record before the team began a six-game losing streak, their longest such streak since 2001.[13] San Diego finished with an 8–8 record and again missed the playoffs.[10]
The Chargers started 3–1 in 2012 for the second straight season.[14] They then lost two games in a row which they led by double digits in the second half, including a 35–24 loss to the Denver Broncos which San Diego led 24–0 at halftime.[15][16] They lost a third such game after leading in the second half 13–3 with 7:51 remaining before losing 16–13 in overtime to the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens faced fourth-and-29 at their own 37 with 1:37 left when running back Ray Rice caught a pass one yard past the line of scrimmage and escaped defenders to run 28 yards for the first down.[17][18][19] After being 8–0 under Turner in November from 2009 to 2010, San Diego was 1–7, the second-worst November record in the league since 2011.[17] On December 6, U-T San Diego reported that Turner and Chargers general manager A. J. Smith would be fired at the end of the season. However, Chargers president Dean Spanos denied the report, saying that final evaluations would be made at the end of the season.[20] San Diego at 7–9 had its first losing season since 2003, Smith's first season as GM.[10] Turner and Smith were both fired by the San Diego Chargers on December 31, 2012.[21] Turner had one year remaining on his contract, and left with a 59–43 record in his six-year stint with the Chargers.[10] He had the support of the players through the end of his tenure, and received a standing ovation in his final meeting with them after being fired.[10][22] San Diego never made the Super Bowl under Turner despite having what was perceived as one of the league's most talented rosters.[8] This failure to win a Super Bowl after replacing the popular Schottenheimer is believed by some to partially cause San Diego fans and citizens distrusting team management and contributing to the team's 2017 exit from San Diego. Turner believed the Chargers were the most talented team in the AFC West in his first three seasons, but not in his final three when the team lost talented players.[23] He inherited a team with 11 Pro Bowl players in 2006, but had no players voted to the NFL's All-Star game in 2012.[8] During Smith's tenure, the Chargers lost players such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles, Michael Turner and Vincent Jackson. Drew Brees, however, was replaced by Philip Rivers in a decision to go with the younger quarterback. The Chargers' offensive line grew weak in 2012. Quarterback Philip Rivers was frequently forced to scramble and was sacked 49 times, contributing to his 22 turnovers — 47 over the previous two seasons.[8]
With losing records with the Redskins and Raiders, and a winning record with the Chargers, Turner coached more games than any other coach in NFL history who has a losing overall record.[24]
Cleveland Browns
Turner with the Cleveland Browns in 2013
On January 17, 2013, Turner was hired as offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns.[25] He was hired by new head coach Rob Chudzinski, whom Turner had previously on his staff with the Chargers. He replaced former coordinator Brad Childress.
Minnesota Vikings
On January 18, 2014, Turner was hired by the Minnesota Vikings as the offensive coordinator.[26] On November 2, 2016, Turner unexpectedly resigned from his position as the Minnesota Vikings' offensive coordinator. The Vikings had lost their last two games at the time of his resignation after starting the season with five consecutive victories.[27]
Carolina Panthers
He was hired as the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator on January 11, 2018. Following head coach Ron Rivera's dismissal in December 2019, Turner was moved to the special assistant to the head coach.[28]
Personal life
Turner and his wife Nancy have three children: Scott, who is the former offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders;[29] actress and filmmaker Stephanie; and Drew.
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquartered in Dove Valley, Colorado.
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team plays its home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, which it shares with the Los Angeles Rams.
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at FedExField in Landover, Maryland; its headquarters and training facility are in Ashburn, Virginia. The team has played more than 1,000 games and is one of only five in the NFL with more than 600 total wins. Washington was among the first NFL franchises with a fight song: "Hail to the Commanders", played by their marching band after every touchdown scored by the team at home. The franchise is owned by a group headed by Josh Harris, who acquired the team from Daniel Snyder for $6.05 billion in 2023.
Ronald Eugene Rivera is an American football head coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He attended the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1980s, where he was recognized as an All-American linebacker for the Golden Bears. Following graduation, Rivera was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft and played nine seasons with them, including as a member of the 1985 team that won Super Bowl XX.
Martin Edward Schottenheimer was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs for 10 seasons, the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers for five each, and the Washington Redskins for one. He ranks seventh in regular season wins with 200, and has the most wins of an NFL head coach to not win a Super Bowl. After coaching in the NFL, he won a 2011 championship in his one season with the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League (UFL). He was inducted to the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2010.
The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. Defending Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears shared the league's best record with the Giants at 14–2, with the Giants claiming the spot in the NFC by tiebreakers. In the AFC, the Cleveland Browns earned home-field advantage with a record of 12–4, and they hosted the New York Jets in round one of the AFC playoffs. The Jets had started the season at 10–1 before losing their final five contests. The game went to double OT, with the Browns finally prevailing 23–20. The following Sunday, John Elway and the Denver Broncos defeated the Browns by an identical score in a game known for The Drive, where Elway drove his team 98 yards to send the game to overtime to win. The Giants would defeat their rival Washington Redskins in the NFC title game, blanking them 17–0 to advance to their first Super Bowl. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos 39–20 at the Rose Bowl to win their first league title in 30 years.
The 1979 NFL season was the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XIV when the Pittsburgh Steelers repeated as champions by defeating the Los Angeles Rams 31–19 at the Rose Bowl. The Steelers became the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice.
Albert J. Smith is a former American football player, coach, scout, and executive. He served as a part-time scout for several NFL and USFL teams before joining the Buffalo Bills in 1986, serving as a scout and executive for them for 14 years. With the Bills, the team won four AFC Championships. He joined the San Diego Chargers in 2001 as a director of pro personnel, and was promoted to general manager and executive vice president for them two years later. He stayed with the Chargers until being fired following the 2012 season. Smith's son, Kyle, is also an NFL scout and executive.
Troy Kenneth Aikman is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from Oklahoma, he played college football at UCLA, where he won the Davey O'Brien Award as a senior. Aikman was selected first overall in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Cowboys, received six Pro Bowl selections, and won three Super Bowls. He was also named MVP of Super Bowl XXVII, the franchise's first title in over a decade. Aikman was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
This article contains an in-depth explanation of the history of the Dallas Cowboys, a professional American football team that competes in the National Football League (NFL).
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating back to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now known as the Los Angeles Chargers.
Eric Steven Weddle is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Utah Utes, earning consensus All-American honors in 2006. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. During his nine seasons with the Chargers, Weddle received three Pro Bowl and two first-team All-Pro selections. He spent his next three seasons as a member of the Baltimore Ravens, earning Pro Bowl honors in each and extending his total selections to six. He retired after playing for the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, but returned two years later to join the Rams on their playoff run, which culminated with a start and a victory in Super Bowl LVI. Following the championship, he retired a second time.
The 1995 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 36th season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the second year under head coach Barry Switzer and final of the three Super Bowl titles they would win during 1992 to 1995. Dallas would be the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a span of four seasons. Switzer guided the Cowboys to a fifth Super Bowl win by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. As of 2023, this is the most recent time the Cowboys appeared in the NFC Championship Game, and in turn, their most recent Super Bowl appearance.
The 1994 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 35th season in the National Football League (NFL). Following their second consecutive Super Bowl title, the Cowboys would see a multitude of changes. In March, months of setbacks finally reached its climax as team owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson held a press conference and announced Johnson's resignation.
The 1991 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the third year of the franchise under the ownership of Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson. This also marked Norv Turner's first year as offensive coordinator under head coach Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys improved on their 7–9 record from 1990, finishing 11–5, and made the playoffs for the first time since 1985.
The 1990 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 31st season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the second year of the franchise under the ownership of Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys rebounded from a 1–15 season in 1989 to a 7–9 record. However, the Cowboys missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. Despite this, Jimmy Johnson won AP's NFL coach of the year honors. This was the first season since their Super Bowl X-appearing 1975 season that offensive lineman Tom Rafferty was not on the roster, as he announced his retirement in the offseason, ending a 14-year era for the team.
In American football, Air Coryell is the offensive scheme and philosophy developed by former San Diego Chargers coach Don Coryell. The offensive philosophy has been also called the "Coryell offense" or the "vertical offense".
The 2000 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 69th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 64th in Washington, D.C. The team was looking to improve on its 10–6 mark from 1999, which saw the Redskins win the NFC East for the first time since 1991 and win a playoff game for the first time since 1992. Norv Turner returned to lead the team for a seventh season.
Michael P. McCoy is an American football coach and former player who is the quarterbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He has previously spent time as quarterbacks coach for the Carolina Panthers, the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals, and four seasons as head coach of the San Diego Chargers.
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