Monday, January 26, 2004

 

 

By Len Pasquarelli

ESPN.com

 

The Oakland Raiders ended their month-long search for a new coach Monday by coming to an agreement with Dolphins offensive coordinator Norv Turner.

 

 

Turner will receive a multi-year contract, SI.com is reporting, though terms were not immediately available. The Raiders have called a 5 p.m. ET news conference to introduce Turner.

 

 

Turner, 51, leaves Miami after only two seasons under coach Dave Wannstedt. Turner flew to Oakland on Thursday to meet with Raiders owner Al Davis and their discussions continued through the weekend. Contrary to published reports, Turner did not return home; he remained in California awaiting an offer from Davis.

 

 

In hiring Turner, the Raiders concluded a lengthy and sometimes convoluted search for a successor to Bill Callahan, who was fired at the conclusion of a 4-12 season. Just last Tuesday, Dallas Cowboys assistant head coach Sean Payton agreed in principle to be Oakland's head coach, and then changed his mind a day later.

 

 

Callahan has since been hired as Nebraska's head coach.

 

 

Davis interviewed Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders by phone early in the search process. He then met with Dennis Green, who accepted the same job with the Arizona Cardinals; San Francisco offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, who went to the Atlanta Falcons in the same capacity; and Payton. Another potential candidate, Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, turned down an interview request, and then was hired as Buffalo Bills coach.

 

 

It was generally believed, after the deal with Payton collapsed, that Davis would wait until after Super Bowl XXXVIII to interview the New England's two coordinators, Romeo Crennel (defense) and Charlie Weis (offense). But his meetings with Turner went well and Turner apparently agreed to accept some of the conditions that Davis had laid out for other candidates.

 

 

Davis said at a news conference last week that he will take a more personal hand in player discipline. Davis also wanted the other candidates to retain many of Callahan's assistants who are still under contract.

 

 

This marks only the second time that Davis has hired a coach with previous NFL head coaching experience. The only other time was in 1997, when he brought aboard Joe Bugel, the former Arizona Cardinals coach. Bugel lasted one season in Oakland.

 

 

Turner was head coach of the Washington Redskins between 1994 and 2000 (50-60-1). Turner, however, is well regarded for his expertise on the offensive side of the ball and Davis typically prefers offensive-oriented coaches.

 

 

Turner grew up in California, and friends have said he wanted to return there, which likely played into his decision to accept the job. Also, there is speculation that Wannstedt's job might be on the line in 2004, and that his staff may come under scrutiny as well.

 

 

The departure of Turner likely means that Wannstedt will elevate running backs coach Joel Collier, who had been given more responsibilities last season, to replace Turner.

 

 

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.

 

Damn thats great now we lost probably our best coach. :banghead

 

Article

we hired marc trestman to be qb coach (in other words, backup offensive coordinator) so i think well see trestman take norvs job

The departure of Turner likely means that Wannstedt will elevate running backs coach Joel Collier, who had been given more responsibilities last season, to replace Turner.

 

According to the article from ESPN. The runningbacks coach will be elevated to Offensive Coordinator.

Not a huge loss for the dolphins IMO.....

 

It's not like your offense was tearing the world apart last year.

Not a huge loss for the dolphins IMO.....

 

It's not like your offense was tearing the world apart last year.

It's not like he had anything to work with besides Ricky. No good receivers, bad QB, no OL.

um...

 

 

If I am a Dolphin fan I am thrilled.

 

 

Norv Turner is overrated for leading the Dallas Cowboys with a young and very talented squad featuring Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek and talent at every position in the pre-salary cap era.

 

 

He will struggle in Oakland, just like he struggled in Washington.

 

 

The Dolphins will be better served to revamp their offense, along with finding a stable line and featuring Ricky Williams non-stop. You dont need a big name quarterback to win in this league with the defense the Dolphins have and the running back they have as well.....

 

 

But the Dolphins have been too stupid to figure this out recently.

Not a huge loss for the dolphins IMO.....

 

It's not like your offense was tearing the world apart last year.

It's not like he had anything to work with besides Ricky. No good receivers, bad QB, no OL. Good point, but I still think Norv is VERY overrated. ANYBODY could have doen well and built a reputation with Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Alvin Harper, Jay Novacek, that Offensive Line, that great mid '90's Dallas Defense to help out.

 

Well you get the idea with what i'm trying to say.....

Not a huge loss for the dolphins IMO.....

 

It's not like your offense was tearing the world apart last year.

It's not like he had anything to work with besides Ricky. No good receivers, bad QB, no OL. Good point, but I still think Norv is VERY overrated. ANYBODY could have doen well and built a reputation with Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Alvin Harper, Jay Novacek, that Offensive Line, that great mid '90's Dallas Defense to help out.

 

Well you get the idea with what i'm trying to say..... dood....

 

 

why you copy my thoughts exactly?

 

 

only adding in a few more players and such in the process.....

 

Not a huge loss for the dolphins IMO.....

 

It's not like your offense was tearing the world apart last year.

It's not like he had anything to work with besides Ricky. No good receivers, bad QB, no OL. Just like future Gm said its hard to have success when you have no OL, WR's or your starting QB healthy the whole year.

 

Plus my comment about Norv being the best coach probably does hold up because we dont have many good coaches here in Miami. (sadly)

doods....

 

 

Chambers is not a bad reciever.

 

 

and your defense is not bad neither.

 

 

Wannstedt is also overrated but not to the extent of ole Norv.

Not a huge loss for the dolphins IMO.....

 

It's not like your offense was tearing the world apart last year.

It's not like he had anything to work with besides Ricky. No good receivers, bad QB, no OL. Good point, but I still think Norv is VERY overrated. ANYBODY could have doen well and built a reputation with Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Alvin Harper, Jay Novacek, that Offensive Line, that great mid '90's Dallas Defense to help out.

 

Well you get the idea with what i'm trying to say..... dood....

 

 

why you copy my thoughts exactly?

 

 

only adding in a few more players and such in the process.....

 

Dood, if I didn't still live in the stone age and have dial-up internet and therefore slow internet, I'd have been the one to get his post in first and you'd be copying me. :lol

 

But in all seriousness, the fact that Das and I, 2 incredibly intelligent Cowboy fans, had similar posts saying Norv is overrated at almost literally the same time just makes you think that us having the same opinion isn't a coincidence, and maybe Norv is overrated (which he is).

 

Ask 100 other Cowboy fans if Norv Turner was overrated for what he in did in Dallas, and i'd guess at least 90 would say yes.

doods....

 

 

Chambers is not a bad reciever.

 

 

and your defense is not bad neither.

 

 

Wannstedt is also overrated but not to the extent of ole Norv.

I agree on Chambers, he is a building block, as is Ricky obviously....

 

However, this team has an aging defense that IMO isn't going to be good much longer. If you don't agree with me on how quick defenses can age and struggle, look at the 2002 and then 2003 Bucs and see how much worse they got.

 

This team also has A LOT of work to do if it wants to have a good offense.

 

Dan and the boys in the FO have a lot of work to do.

well yes as they age they will fall off the earth fast and sharp.

 

 

 

but for the past couple of years they have had a good/great defense.

 

 

this past offseason the front office should of put all their resources into building their offensive line...

 

 

instead they go for the 'splash' with Seau and Griese.

 

 

both unneeded pieces and neither truly helped the team all that much last year anyway.

Not a huge loss for the dolphins IMO.....

 

It's not like your offense was tearing the world apart last year.

It's not like he had anything to work with besides Ricky. No good receivers, bad QB, no OL. Good point, but I still think Norv is VERY overrated. ANYBODY could have doen well and built a reputation with Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Alvin Harper, Jay Novacek, that Offensive Line, that great mid '90's Dallas Defense to help out.

 

Well you get the idea with what i'm trying to say..... dood....

 

 

why you copy my thoughts exactly?

 

 

only adding in a few more players and such in the process.....

 

Dood, if I didn't still live in the stone age and have dial-up internet and therefore slow internet, I'd have been the one to get his post in first and you'd be copying me. :lol

 

But in all seriousness, the fact that Das and I, 2 incredibly intelligent Cowboy fans, had similar posts saying Norv is overrated at almost literally the same time just makes you think that us having the same opinion isn't a coincidence, and maybe Norv is overrated (which he is).

 

Ask 100 other Cowboy fans if Norv Turner was overrated for what he in did in Dallas, and i'd guess at least 90 would say yes. damn straight dood.

 

 

I could of coached those Cowboy teams in the early 90s to Super Bowl titles....

 

 

 

hell Barry Switzer lead that team to a Super Bowl title.......

 

 

 

 

there is a reason Jerry Jones said any of 1000 men could of coached that cowboys team to the Super Bowl.....

 

cause they had young talent .... and depth to go with it.

 

 

 

ahh the pre-salary cap era....

 

 

 

no salary cap would of meant the Cowboys winning at least 5 Super Bowls in the 90s.

It was obvious Seau was getting old in San Diego, I always hated that signing.

 

I also didn't like the Greise signing. It wasn't worth the money to sign an overrated QB who isn't much of an upgrade over Fiedler.

 

This team needs to revamp the ENTIRE offense except for Williams, McMichael, and Chambers IMO, and that is going to take more than one offseason. Hopefully for their sake, at least they can get a start in the draft and free agent market by signing and drafting some offensive talent.

you could probably keep the fullback also....

 

(Konrad)

 

if you are gonna have an offensive system that works best with a blocking fullback.....

 

 

else get rid of him also.

 

 

the Dolphins are much closer to a horrible season than to a great season.

the Dolphins are much closer to a horrible season than to a great season.

Agreed, especially with the AFC being the better of the conferences these days.

 

But shhhh.....no negative talk about the Dolphins, you will be crucified by people around here for doing that. Anyways, Dan and the new FO crew are going to be tested this offseason, if they don't have a good offseason, this team will be sitting at home in January, again.

crucify me....

 

see if i care.

 

 

If the Dolphin fans around here cant deal with the truth then they will soon discover who is right and who is wrong.

 

 

The Dolphins better have a good draft in April...it will go a long way to rebuilding that team.

 

 

If I am them...I try to stockpile as many picks as I can in the middle to late rounds..if that means trading away some defensive talent...then so be it.

If I am them...I try to stockpile as many picks as I can in the middle to late rounds..if that means trading away some defensive talent...then so be it.

That's a great point. If they trade away a couple defensive players, they can stockpile draft picks, get the team younger, and clear up some cap room.

 

That is probably one of the best options the dolphins have at this point.

go ahead and bash the fins. we deserve it. we SUCKED last year. i agree with everythin yall sayin...the whole offense cept for ricky, chambers, mcmichael, and konrad gotta change/get better. our defense is getting old it only has a couple of years max left before we gotta rebuild that... :banghead

go ahead and bash the fins. we deserve it. we SUCKED last year. i agree with everythin yall sayin...the whole offense cept for ricky, chambers, mcmichael, and konrad gotta change/get better. our defense is getting old it only has a couple of years max left before we gotta rebuild that... :banghead

That's exactly the point.....

 

we aren't bashing the fins, we are stating facts about the team like you said in this post.

If I am them...I try to stockpile as many picks as I can in the middle to late rounds..if that means trading away some defensive talent...then so be it.

That's a great point. If they trade away a couple defensive players, they can stockpile draft picks, get the team younger, and clear up some cap room.

 

That is probably one of the best options the dolphins have at this point. the best teams build their teams in the middle rounds of the draft....

 

 

that seperates the men from teh boys.

If I am them...I try to stockpile as many picks as I can in the middle to late rounds..if that means trading away some defensive talent...then so be it.

That's a great point. If they trade away a couple defensive players, they can stockpile draft picks, get the team younger, and clear up some cap room.

 

That is probably one of the best options the dolphins have at this point. the best teams build their teams in the middle rounds of the draft....

 

 

that seperates the men from teh boys. Exactly....

 

for example, this year's super bowl is 6th round pick Tom Brady against undrafted Jake Delhomme.

First of all I dont think anyone thinks Dave Wanstedt is a good head coach, so he really cant be over-rated. Secondly Turner was the head coach in Washington but I think he is better suited as the Offensive Coordinator of a team. The offense performed well in Washington as Brad Johnson had hes best year ever passing over for 4,000 yards and hes not the greatest QB on earth.

 

Now to defend my Dolphins. I agree with some of the points Das and Magglio make about how they should have gone after O-line instead of Seau, Griese, Knight and so on. But Seau did have a good year and was an improvement to that position held by Rodgers last year and Knight also had a solid year but we really need offense and they didnt sign anyone there except a backup QB.

 

Another thing they messed up on was drafting a LB with their first pick last year and passing on OL and WR (Anquan Boldin one of them :banghead ).'

 

We need to have a good draft this year on the offensive side of the ball and maybe sign a couple of solid O- lineman this offseason so we can improve if not were back to the same thing as this year.

 

One thing I dont agree on is that our defense is getting old. They were still one of the top in the league. Plus the tampa arguement doesnt hold up that well because they had a lot of major injuries.

I like this move. Hey may be a genius, but it didn't work. No playoffs = Didn't work. In fact under him, the team stopped making the playoffs.

 

Turner had to go, now if only Dave W. could be hired by someone else so easily.