jimster Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 The Norv Turner years in D.C.: 'We just didn't win, so he got run out of here' http://sports.iwon.com/news/11162005/v3364.html Nov 16, 7:56 PM (ET) Email this Story ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - Norv Turner was supposed to be the next Joe Gibbs, a highly regarded, offensive-minded assistant coach hand-picked by owner Jack Kent Cooke to lead the Washington Redskins to Super Bowl titles. Instead, Turner won only one playoff game in six-plus turbulent seasons that included Cooke's death and nearly two years of limbo until Dan Snyder bought the team. Turner's record wasn't all that bad given the circumstances, but he's mostly remembered as a nice guy who devised brilliant game plans, but couldn't communicate with his players or rally them when the game was on the line. "I thought he was a good coach," left tackle Chris Samuels said. "We just didn't win, so he got run out of here." Well, he did win, in a way. Turner took over a bad team in 1994 and took his lumps through two rebuilding years before posting winning records in four of his last five seasons. He lasted twice as long as his three successors - Terry Robiskie, Marty Schottenheimer and Steve Spurrier - combined. He is the only coach to take the Redskins to the playoffs in the last dozen years, getting there in 1999 and beating Detroit in the first round before losing by one point to Tampa Bay. But the numbers could be easily turned the other way. Turner's overall record was a mediocre 49-59-1. He had an abysmal 10-20-1 record in games decided by three points or fewer. He needed 72 games, well into his fifth season, before he won a game with a fourth-quarter rally. In 2000, Snyder gave Turner the most expensive roster in NFL history at the time, yet the coach managed only a 7-6 record and was fired with three games to play after two close losses. "He was a great play-caller, plain and simple," tight end Mike Sellers said. "The man knows his football. He's an offensive genius." So why didn't Turner succeed? Bad chemistry, says Sellers. "Not the right players," Sellers said. "We had incidents on the field. People fighting for the ball. A lot of individuals back then. Now we have a lot of team players." Turner returns for the first time Sunday as coach of the struggling Oakland Raiders. Over the years, he has defended his record in Washington, but this week he is understandably reticent to talk in detail about those days. Yes, he will have an emotional twinge or two, but he got much of the revenge factor out of his system in the first game of the 2001 season, when he helped San Diego beat visiting Washington 30-3 as the offensive coordinator for the Chargers. "That was the emotional game, a big game and all that," Turner said. "It's been a long time. So much has changed. My thoughts are on our team and what we need to do." Some things never change. Turner seemed constantly to be fighting for his job with the Redskins, and his prospects are already in question after an 8-17 start in one-plus seasons with the Raiders. He is losing close games in Oakland, just as he did with Washington. This year's 3-6 record includes three nail-biting defeats, including a last-play loss to Kansas City that must have felt very familiar. "Everyone tells you those things are going to go both ways, and they're going to come around your way," Turner said. "The one year I thought they did for us was in '99 when we won the division. ... But sometimes you wonder what you have to do to get that call to go your way." How's he doing now with the Raiders players? Well, it spoke volumes this week when Randy Moss, asked in an ESPN interview about Turner, paused several priceless seconds before finally saying: "Um, I think his approach, being an offensive-minded coach, is something that I can accept, I like. I mean, he's the man, uh, and, you know, I'll leave that at that." When Warren Sapp was asked Wednesday what it was like playing for Turner, the defensive lineman replied, "I really don't have a lot of interacting with him." It was no surprise when Turner's time in Washington was ended by Snyder, a brash, young owner who demanded immediate results and wanted to pick his own coach. Turner spent the next three years as an assistant in San Diego and Miami before getting another shot from another demanding owner, Al Davis. But the Redskins haven't had a winning season since Turner left, and they still lose the close ones. They dropped last week's game on a 2-point conversion in the final minute, a script that's becoming well worn. "It hasn't changed since he left," center Cory Raymer said. "We're just missing out on the hair of our chinny-chin-chins. Eleven years and we've been (to the playoffs) once." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canesluver Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Even though I know he wasn't the greatest of coaches, I still like Norv. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander PK Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Norvell's swell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney B Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 The Norv Turner years in D.C.: 'We just didn't win, so he got run out of here'http://sports.iwon.com/news/11162005/v3364.html Nov 16, 7:56 PM (ET) Email this Story ASHBURN, Va. (AP) "It hasn't changed since he left," center Cory Raymer said. Uh-oh, somebody spilled the Kool-Aid all over his panties! If you were Joe Gibbs, how would you feel about this quote, being as the Skins aren't eliminated from playoff contention? If I was Gibbs, I'd be handing this guy real estate brochures for the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelarkascend1ng Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 he's a love-to-hate kind of guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcarey032 Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 I couldn't take any more of his terrible excuses of why he didn't win. I will never forgive him for throwing that game against the cowboys game at fed ex when we should have won by three touchdowns, but we lost! He is like a bad hangover. You just want him to go away when you wake up from all the pain he caused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedskinsFan28 Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 I liked Norv and I agree with what some of the players said: he was a very good offensive-minded coach. Of course, this was also during a time when our D (specifically the run D) was so terrible and would let any opposing RB run over us. Plus, he WAS the last coach to get us a NFC East Championship since Gibbs' first tenure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36HAMMER Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Sorry to burst you bubble redskinfan28 but it was a divisional playoff game. for me norv was a terrible head coach.nice guy and all and that seems to be the consensus from the players. could call a good offensive game but didn't have clue how to rally guys around and motivate them for the game.his teams were notoriusly flat for games especailly the big ones.it was an act i grew very tired of.people blamed our owner for alot of his problems but look whats happening again wwith him and his team in oakland.he's coordinator not a head coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief skin Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Those were the WORST ABSOLUTE WORST Redskins teams I have ever seen in my 38 years of being a SKINS fan. TURNER SUCKS his teams lacked discipline, desire, and guts. The Turner era was the darkest moment in Skins history. Just proves the point that you don't hire a cowpie to do a mans job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins11 Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Uh-oh, somebody spilled the Kool-Aid all over his panties!If you were Joe Gibbs, how would you feel about this quote, being as the Skins aren't eliminated from playoff contention? If I was Gibbs, I'd be handing this guy real estate brochures for the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Seriously, what kind of lame ass response is this by Raymer? We are freakin 5-4, and almost won a game (SHOULD have won a game) in which we were down big early. If Raymer says it's the same now as it was then, he is a complete idiot. For one, Norv was notorious for not having good relationships with his players, while Gibbs is the complete opposite. Plus, this is only Gibbs' second year, and already we are seeing the difference in the team. What a loser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75004 Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Norv, I really had high expectations when he came on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Platypus Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Those were the WORST ABSOLUTE WORST Redskins teams I have ever seen in my 38 years of being a SKINS fan. What about the Pettibon season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red zone Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 ...Gee, I'm glad we really don't have to depend on Raymer for anything Norv is a pitiful leader, but a likeable guy. I personally never cared for having an ex-Cowboy at the helm. When Norv threw Shuler under the bus, I knew he'd be a career loser as a headcoach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drex Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 What about the Pettibon season? I agree. Immediately after the Gibbs era, we start out with a huge victory over the boys 35-16 on Monday night and then proceed to have a nightmarish season. Who can ever forget the 3-0 loss to the Jets that year? :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DButz65 Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 PLEASE DONT REMIND US OF NORV's YEARS HERE , We are all Skins fan we KNOW how bad he/we sucked This thread sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDoyler23 Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 My mother still likes Norv. "He's a good guy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB44 Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Norv Years in DC? My summation would be a guy who tried, but his teams were undisciplined, and always...repeatedly...every week...found a new and creative way to lose a football game. I drank alot, which helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsGuy Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 The problem with this article is that skirts the truth. We did have 2 winning seasons with Turner as our coach. But what it fails to mention is that one of those "winning seasons", we started 7-1 before we proceeded to drop 6 of our last eight and finish 9-7. Then the very next season, I believe we started 0-7. :doh: Turner was NOT a winning coach. And it is showing again in Oakland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidPennSkin Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Norval is a nice guy, but he is not a disciplinarian. He needs to take lessons from Tom Coughlin. But even that probably wouldn't help, Norv just doesn't have the stomach to be tough on his players and keep them in line when they need it. He's never gonna be a good coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA Skin Fan Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 We need to get a new backup center. Cory Raymer's "things haven't changed at all" quote is totally unacceptable and shows no team attitude, optimism, and spirit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 I think it's funny that the last paragraph mentions how we "still lose the close games" as if we never win them.... It's true we don't win them all, but when you have wins of 2,1,3,&7 under your belt at the mid-season point, that doesn't mean we still lose the close ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcarey032 Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 I heard that there was some resentment among some skins players because he brought in some dallas players to help out and are we are we not supposed to HATE DALLAS? I guess Norv missed that one and according to John Madden he was the best play caller in the NFL when he was here in DC. I almost choked when I heard that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCNightHawk Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 I thought Norv did a better job than spurrier did... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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