Those of us who thought the Chargers made a mistake when they hired Norv Turner to replace Marty Schottenheimer have been proven wrong by this simple fact: The Chargers have now advanced further in the playoffs under Turner than they ever did under Schottenheimer.Really, it is as simple as that. True, the Chargers weren't as good during the 2007 regular season as they were during the 2006 regular season, but firing Schottenheimer wasn't about the regular season. It was about the Chargers getting closer to the Super Bowl. And while Schottenheimer's inability to play nice with Chargers general manager A.J. Smith might have been overlooked if his team could perform in the playoffs, the fact is, his team couldn't perform in the playoffs, and that's how Smith could convince the owner to fire the coach of a 14-2 team.
And now that decision has worked. Congratulations to Norv Turner, who proved a lot of us wrong yesterday.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-14-2008 @ 10:38AM
james e. baub said...
Coaching is overrated.Marty would of beat NE last year if the receivers had caught the ball like they should of and would'nt of made some very dumb mistakes.Bill Belichek is the most overrated coach in football.If it was'nt for Tom NE would be just a average team.In my estimation NE would be 9-7 or maybe 10-6 without Tom.Bill did'nt have Tom in Cleveland and he got fired!!!
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1-14-2008 @ 4:08PM
Joel DiGiacomo said...
Well, I was one of those columnists extremely critical of A.J. Smith for firing Marty Schottenheimer and hiring Norv Turner.
So it seems only fair that I just as publicly set the record straight.
You can read my mea culpa,'Dear A.J., I Was Wrong (A 'Fourth and Long Column),' at
http://footballforbreakfast.com/?p=191
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