A.J. Smith and Norv Turner to Remain with San Diego Chargers

COMMENTARY | Two days after the final game of the season, amid much speculation from the media and fans, the San Diego Chargers have announced that their general manager, A.J. Smith, and their head coach, Norv Turner, will remain with the team.

In a statement issued late Tuesday morning, January 3rd, owner Dean Spanos said, “Bottom line, I believe these two men give us the best chance to get back to the playoffs … A.J. Smith is the best man to improve our roster, and Norv Turner is the best man to lead that roster on the field.” Spanos added that the two men bring experience and stability to the Chargers, something “that’s hard to find in the NFL.” He also said he respected that the players believe in Turner’s coaching ability.

Addressing Turner’s coaching prowess, Spanos continued, “As we’ve seen throughout Norv’s tenure and particularly this past season, the players believe in him, respect him and play hard for him. When we went through that tough stretch, no one quit. The team kept playing hard, and that’s a tribute to Norv’s leadership and the respect the players have for him.

Spanos further elaborated that the team would “take a hard look at everything, from player evaluation to coaching to the rash of injuries we’ve suffered in recent years.”

“Injuries have killed us. And no one is ever perfect in this business. Player evaluation isn’t an exact science. We need to improve across the board and I’m going to make sure we do.”

“We all have our quirks and faults, but I want A.J. and Norv on my side. They are the right men to help us win a championship.”

There have been no negative rumblings from the clubhouse such as seen by the New York Jets after they folded. The players seemed to back Norv as their coach to the end, even during the losing streak. Philip Rivers, the Chargers’ Pro Bowl quarterback, acting as team spokesman, made a strong appeal for Norv to remain in charge. The Spanoses, the owners of the team, undoubtedly considered this strong backing.

This will come as a surprise to most sports taking heads who predicted the Chargers would fire one or both as a result of a poor season wherein the team finished 8-8 including a six-game losing streak midseason. However, the Chargers finished strong, winning four of their final five games, the only loss being to Detroit in an embarrassing showing on the road. During that winning streak, they destroyed the tough Baltimore Ravens, winners of the AFC North division, and eliminated Oakland from playoff contention, if not the AFC West title, in the final game of the season.

As a fan — not the owner who has to make these tough decisions — I think that was the best choice considering the expense of terminating them (they both had several years remaining on their contracts) and the fact that there are no premier head coaches/GMs out there to replace them. Of the possibilities, the price will be very high because there are so many teams in the hunt. It is a supply and demand dilemma.

The continuity factor is a positive. Firing a GM and/or a head coach generally leads to chaos for a team and signals a rebuilding process, which may take years to produce results. We have seen this many times in the NFL. It is frustrating as a fan to sit and wait for your team to rebuild, rearm, and relearn what it takes to get to the top in professional football. Just look at what happened to the perennially challenging Indianapolis Colts this year after Peyton Manning went down with a season-killing neck injury. Now they are firing people, scrambling to get back to contending status, uncertain about the health of their star quarterback, contemplating drafting Andrew Luck of Stanford should he declare for the draft, and otherwise in a state of disarray. Will they return to championship form next season? It is doubtful after such a disastrous year.

Spanos concluded his statement by reminding all that the objective was to win a title, not just regular season games.

“Despite the number of wins we’ve had, the net bottom line is it doesn’t mean anything unless you win a championship,” Spanos said. “That’s our goal and I am committed to winning a Super Bowl for San Diego.”

I sure hope he is right in this decision and does what he says he intends. Meanwhile, radio and television talking heads will raucously second-guess him to the end of next season, and crucify him should he not produce.


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