DCDave
Member
- Messages
- 147
- Reaction score
- 0
The assumption in all the arguments for Norv Turner is that he is this offensive genius who will do a great job in developing Tony Romo. But I’m not sure there’s as much evidence supporting this assumption as most people think.
He coached Aikman, as Troy ascended to elite level. And he seems to be doing a decent job with Alex Smith. But both of those guys were elite prospects before Turner got near them. Both #1 overall picks. I know Troy loves him, but Troy’s previous coordinator was David Shula. After Shula, anybody would seem like a genius.
But when Norv had Heath Schuler, a #3 overall pick, in Washington, he completely failed to develop him into a good player. He never, ever got that team to the playoffs until trading a first round pick for the already-developed Brad Johnson. The year that Johnson started was the one and only playoff appearance of Norv’s entire seven year tenure. If Norv is such a qb guru, why does he have to trade a high pick for a qb developed by somebody else?
And don’t forget that Jay Fielder regressed badly in his second year under Norv when Norv was the offensive coordinator in Miami.
And while people are quick to dismiss his tenure as a head coach in Oakland because he had to work under Al Davis, remember that Jon Gruden – also under Al Davis – never had a losing season in his four years in Oakland, with two playoff appearances including a trip to the Conference Championship game. The reason that Oakland fell off the map two years after Gruden left had nothing to do with Davis. Bill Callahan, who got Oakland to a superbowl his first year, went 4-12 and was fired in his second year. Why? Because Rich Gannon got hurt. Oakland’s problem was that they had no quarterback after Gannon. And its still their problem today. As bad as they were this year (2-14), they had the #3 defense in the NFL. They just have no quarterback. Norv’s prime failure in Oakland wasn’t some unreasonable behavior by Al Davis, it was Norv’s failure to make Kerry Collins a productive quarterback. Collins – a former #5 overall pick that Sean Payton got to lead the Giants to a Superbowl – never got the job done in Oakland under Norv.
Yes, Norv had good excuses for his failures in Washington and Oakland. He had difficult ownership situations. He had defensive coordinators who didn’t get the job done. But the fact is, the d-coordinators who “failed” under Norv have proven themselves good coaches. In fact, one of them – Mike Nolan – is currently Norv’s boss. And the “difficult ownership situations” faced by Norv are unlikely to be any different than what he faces here. The only way you can justify hiring Norv Turner as a head coach is to simply pretend that the last 15 years never happened. Yet, it is supposedly this very “experience” that justifies hiring Norv over less seasoned candidates? When looking at experience, does it matter whether the experience has been good?
Just as the fact that Drew Bledsoe has much more experience than Tony Romo doesn’t necessarily ensure that Drew is the better quarterback, I don’t think that Norv’s experience necessarily makes him a better coach than the alternatives. Personally, I’d be inclined to give any of the alternatives a chance over a guy who is, in my book, a proven failure.
He coached Aikman, as Troy ascended to elite level. And he seems to be doing a decent job with Alex Smith. But both of those guys were elite prospects before Turner got near them. Both #1 overall picks. I know Troy loves him, but Troy’s previous coordinator was David Shula. After Shula, anybody would seem like a genius.
But when Norv had Heath Schuler, a #3 overall pick, in Washington, he completely failed to develop him into a good player. He never, ever got that team to the playoffs until trading a first round pick for the already-developed Brad Johnson. The year that Johnson started was the one and only playoff appearance of Norv’s entire seven year tenure. If Norv is such a qb guru, why does he have to trade a high pick for a qb developed by somebody else?
And don’t forget that Jay Fielder regressed badly in his second year under Norv when Norv was the offensive coordinator in Miami.
And while people are quick to dismiss his tenure as a head coach in Oakland because he had to work under Al Davis, remember that Jon Gruden – also under Al Davis – never had a losing season in his four years in Oakland, with two playoff appearances including a trip to the Conference Championship game. The reason that Oakland fell off the map two years after Gruden left had nothing to do with Davis. Bill Callahan, who got Oakland to a superbowl his first year, went 4-12 and was fired in his second year. Why? Because Rich Gannon got hurt. Oakland’s problem was that they had no quarterback after Gannon. And its still their problem today. As bad as they were this year (2-14), they had the #3 defense in the NFL. They just have no quarterback. Norv’s prime failure in Oakland wasn’t some unreasonable behavior by Al Davis, it was Norv’s failure to make Kerry Collins a productive quarterback. Collins – a former #5 overall pick that Sean Payton got to lead the Giants to a Superbowl – never got the job done in Oakland under Norv.
Yes, Norv had good excuses for his failures in Washington and Oakland. He had difficult ownership situations. He had defensive coordinators who didn’t get the job done. But the fact is, the d-coordinators who “failed” under Norv have proven themselves good coaches. In fact, one of them – Mike Nolan – is currently Norv’s boss. And the “difficult ownership situations” faced by Norv are unlikely to be any different than what he faces here. The only way you can justify hiring Norv Turner as a head coach is to simply pretend that the last 15 years never happened. Yet, it is supposedly this very “experience” that justifies hiring Norv over less seasoned candidates? When looking at experience, does it matter whether the experience has been good?
Just as the fact that Drew Bledsoe has much more experience than Tony Romo doesn’t necessarily ensure that Drew is the better quarterback, I don’t think that Norv’s experience necessarily makes him a better coach than the alternatives. Personally, I’d be inclined to give any of the alternatives a chance over a guy who is, in my book, a proven failure.
