Yahoo.com: NFL RUMORS: A.J. Smith wishes he had hired Wade Phillips?

[Cbz40]

NFL RUMORS
A.J. Smith wishes he had hired Wade Phillips?




Friday, Oct 5, 2007 11:25 am EDT

Getty Images

San Diego Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, who fired Marty Schottenheimer in February and replaced him with Norv Turner, is starting to cover his butt after the Chargers' disappointing 1-3 start.


According to league sources, Smith is telling people that he regrets not firing Schottenheimer earlier and giving the head-coaching job to Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Phillips, of course, got the Dallas Cowboys' head-coaching job and has them off to a 4-0 start.


Source: Philadelphia Daily News
Related: Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers

 

[03EBZ06]

Smith never should have fired Marty.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Sour Grapes!

 

[JJB500]

Oh well a little too late now, I know how he feels, i should have dropped a load of cash on Halliburton stock in March 03. But at least I didn't bet on a 2 time loser.

 

[Nors]

A 14-2 Coach should never be fired,

to be replaced by a head coach that has failed as a head coach multi times.....

I blame the owner there for letting that happen. Clearly he should have fired GM, not Schott

 

[dallasfan]

not really news, figured after marty got fired, Smith wished he could've promoted either Phillips or Cameron. If the dolphins were 4-0 and we were 0-4, the article would be about Cam

 

[THUMPER]

Smith never should have fired Marty.

Smith is a magpie.

How that idiot kept his job after that "Charlie Foxtrot" is beyond me. The way he let Marty go and his reasons for it were not what was best for the team.

Now he comes out and basically tells Norv that he should have hired the other guy. Classy move nimrod.

 

[Zaxor]

from an article I read...Spanos is the only one that can fire the head coach and it was because Marty wanted his brother Kurt to get the DC job after Wade left....Spanos did not want family members working together and when Marty refused to back down on his choice he was let go... Smith may be a bad GM (I think he has done a nice job of bringing in talent) but he is getting a bum wrap for firing Marty it was not his doings...now hiring Norv is all on Smith

 

[DallasInDC]

Smith is a magpie.

How that idiot kept his job after that "Charlie Foxtrot" is beyond me. The way he let Marty go and his reasons for it were not what was best for the team.

Now he comes out and basically tells Norv that he should have hired the other guy. Classy move nimrod.

Yeah, that statement is not going to help the situation get any better down in SD.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Wade was exactly the coach they needed in San Diego. He already had all the respect of the players down there and probably would have kept as much of the coaching staff intact and systems intact as possible. They would have picked up right where they left off.

 

[Rack]

Smith never should have fired Marty.

 

[Kangaroo]

from an article I read...Spanos is the only one that can fire the head coach and it was because Marty wanted his brother Kurt to get the DC job after Wade left....Spanos did not want family members working together and when Marty refused to back down on his choice he was let go... Smith may be a bad GM (I think he has done a nice job of bringing in talent) but he is getting a bum wrap for firing Marty it was not his doings...now hiring Norv is all on Smith

Not what i have heard in all the football tak. I heard Smith lobbied to fire Marty because Marty was there before Smith and they never got along and he finally convinced the owner to allow him to fire Marty and move on.

 

[Zaxor]

Not what i have heard in all the football tak. I heard Smith lobbied to fire Marty because Marty was there before Smith and they never got along and he finally convinced the owner to allow him to fire Marty and move on.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jim_trotter/10/04/chargers/index.html

taken from the article

No doubt, Smith disliked Schottenheimer. But he had nothing to do with the firing. The only person in the organization with the authority to fire a head coach is Spanos, and he did so in this instance because of a disagreement with Schottenheimer over the coaching staff.

 

[morieeel]

I like this line from http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7289346
>This normally means a contract extension for a coach, not a pink slip. But Marty Schottenheimer and general manager A.J. Smith apparently can't be in the same room without one of them accusing the other of passing gas. Owner Dean Spanos tried to find common ground, but both men just held their nose and said, "He did it!" So Spanos fired Schottenheimer.<

Two mistakes: 1. Firing a 14-2 coach
2. Delaying the decision to where the only option was Norv.

 

[sago1]

Was Marty's brother a good defensive coach? I know Chargers supposedly were upset that Marty let both his coordinators leave for other jobs, but there no way a team can hold their coordinators if both get head coaching job offers. Of course Phillips kept going back to the Chargers in an effort get Brian Stewart as his DC which they finally agreed to do. Why didn't they hire Stewart as their DC? He would have continued the continuity of Wade's system and also knew the players, etc.

I read after Phillips left that the defensive players very concerned about whether Cottrell would be able to make the adjustments that Phillips made so well for them during the game.

 

[Sarge]

NFL RUMORS
A.J. Smith wishes he had hired Wade Phillips?




Friday, Oct 5, 2007 11:25 am EDT

Getty Images

San Diego Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, who fired Marty Schottenheimer in February and replaced him with Norv Turner, is starting to cover his butt after the Chargers' disappointing 1-3 start.


According to league sources, Smith is telling people that he regrets not firing Schottenheimer earlier and giving the head-coaching job to Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Phillips, of course, got the Dallas Cowboys' head-coaching job and has them off to a 4-0 start.


Source: Philadelphia Daily News
Related: Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers

I'm sure this makes Norv feel a little better.

 

[dbair1967]

Smith never should have fired Marty.

I honestly see nothing wrong with firing him, the bigger problem was waiting as long as he did..everyone knows he would have hired Wade if he'd have been there, and even tough Cameron is winless in Miami, you'd have to figure he'd be option #2 if Wade was gone...not to mention the other HC candidates that got scooped up

if you are convinced your never taking the next step with a coach, you move on...they just waited too long

David

 

[sbark]

Just thank the Good Lord the cards fell in our Favour with alot of things so far this year.........

We could'a been the team looking for the next "Campo", or hopeing one of the rooks could take over at right guard............or wishing we had not traded down in the 1st..........and countless more

Jerry gotta keep the Hole in the Roof..........

 

[lspain1]

I wonder, given his Texas roots, if Wade had been presented with the choice between HC of the Chargers or the Cowboys which one he would have taken? It seems like a no-brainer for the Chargers to be his choice......but I wonder.

 

[ZeroClub]

It isn't that Smith hired the wrong guy.

It's that Spanos fired the wrong guy.