Tag: Norv Turner

Can the Commanders next head coach break the losing cycle?

Can Washington’s next head coach produce a winner?

The Washington Commanders are moving on, looking for a new head coach soon, perhaps in the next couple of weeks.

Ron Rivera’s firing reminded all Washington fans that Rivera, in his four seasons (2020-23), did not achieve a single winning season. By not having a winning season for Washington, Rivera joined Jim Zorn, Steve Spurrier, and Marty Schottenheimer as coaches under Dan Snyder, who did not post a winning record.

Zorn (2008-09) was 12-20,  as was Spurrier (2002-03) 12-20, with Schottenheimer finishing 8-8 in his lone season in Washington (2001).

Achieving winning seasons has been difficult in Washington since Dan Snyder took over the ownership. But it has been done.

Norv Turner in Snyder’s first season (1999) led Washington to a 10-6 record and the NFC East title. But Turner did not survive the next season, being fired during an 8-8 season. It’s often forgotten that Turner had two other winning seasons prior to Snyder’s arrival. His team won in 1996 (9-7) and 1997 (8-7-1).

The next winning season in Washington was 2005 when Joe Jackson Gibbs felt so bad for the franchise’s struggles he risked his own reputation and came back to coach the Redskins for four seasons. Gibbs also added a winning season in his last NFL coaching year (2007) when Washington was 9-7 and a Wild Card team. His 2005 team was the last Washington team to win a playoff game.

Mike Shanahan’s team got hot down the stretch, winning their last seven games and finishing 10-6 in 2012. It was Shanahan’s (2010-13) only winning season in Washington, as Robert Griffin refused to run the same offense and proceeded to never develop as a pocket passer in the NFL. By 2015, Washington was attempting to trade Griffin and had no takers.

Jay Gruden (2014-19) actually had two winning seasons, while Kirk Cousins was the quarterback in Burgundy and Gold. Washington was 9-7 in 2015 and 8-7-1 in 2016. Washington has not had a winning season since Gruden was the head coach and Cousins the starting quarterback.

Finally, let the record display that Joe Gibbs (1981-92) was 124-60 under Jack Kent Cooke. Then in the playoffs Gibbs coached in 5 NFC championship games, 4 Super Bowls and won three of those Super Bowls.

Here’s to hoping the next Washington coach has a winning record.

Every Chargers head coach’s record in franchise history

Here is every Chargers head coach, from Sid Gillman to Brandon Staley.

In light of the Chargers firing Brandon Staley, here is a look at the team’s head coaching history and each of their records.

Countdown to the end of the Commanders Daniel Snyder era

The countdown has officially begun.

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The final ten-day countdown has begun.

NFL owners will meet on July 20 for a scheduled gathering where they will vote for the affirmation of the sale of the Washington Commanders from Daniel and Tanya Snyder to a multitude of owners headed by Josh Harris.

Snyder took over ownership of the Washington NFL franchise in 1999, and 2022 was his last season of ownership. In a surprise move last fall, Snyder suddenly was going to look into selling the once-proud and successful franchise.

When Snyder did not show up for the Sonny Jurgensen jersey being retired, and Snyder had his office in Ashburn cleaned out before the final game, it was confirmed, Snyder really was moving on.

There have been plenty of bad moves by Snyder over the years, and Commanders Wire has chronicled many.

He will be criticized — and heavily. There is no question much of that is deserved. It was a bad ending for Charley Casserly, Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier.

It was Snyder who, for whatever reason, hired Jim Zorn as offensive coordinator, dooming Snyder’s search for a head coach. No one wanting the job, Snyder ended up elevating Zorn to head coach, though he had yet to be an NFL coordinator. It was embarrassing.

He sided with an immature quarterback over a great offensive coaching staff, and when the quarterback couldn’t develop into an NFL pocket passer, Snyder then fired the head coach. Seven years later, he forced his football people to draft another immature quarterback. Again it failed, and backfired.

He and Bruce Allen were so smug as a pair it was harmful to the organization. They certainly mishandled Kirk Cousins, and the franchise has yet to have a winning record since the quarterback was Cousins.

Snyder did, however, bring back Joe Gibbs in his greatest achievement as owner. Gibbs had a heart for the franchise, hated seeing the team struggle, and risked so much of his history and reputation in returning. Yet, Gibbs’s leadership was indeed masterful as the team rebounded to earn two playoff births in his last three seasons.

The team has not won a playoff game since Gibbs 2.0.

In the end, the default for most will be to absolutely demonize Snyder. No, he was not successful. But no, he was not entirely responsible for all of the dysfunction from the business side of operations we have witnessed the last few years either.

It’s true… everything rises and falls on leadership.

Perhaps Daniel Snyder’s largest error as owner of Washington

The mistakes were countless, but what do you think Snyder’s biggest mistake was?

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What do you recall as one of the biggest Daniel Snyder mistakes as owner of Washington’s NFL franchise?

During the hugely disappointing 2000 season in which Washington was 7-6, Snyder feeling he needed to make a splash fired head coach Norv Turner, and Washington finished 8-8.

After that 2000 season Snyder then hired a very hands-on football coach in Marty Schottenheimer. Marty felt he needed to get his message across to his team that the culture was going to be much different with Marty at the helm. He angered veterans in training camp, cut starting quarterback Jeff George after only two games, and the team went on to start 0-5.

But say what you will about Marty Schottenheimer, the man could coach a football team. He had taken the Cleveland Browns to consecutive AFC Championship games (1986-87). If that wasn’t enough, he coached the Kansas City Chiefs to a 101-58-1 .634 winning percentage.

Can Washington fans even imagine their team going an entire decade with a .634 winning percentage? Well not one of them under the age of 30 can do so.

Joe Gibbs in his first coaching term in Washington was 124-60 (.674). He also won 4 NFC Championships and 3 Super Bowls. George Allen in his seven seasons as Washington head coach (1971-77) was 67-30-1 (.691), winning one NFC championship, losing one Super Bowl.

Back to Marty. After being 0-5 the team was 6-8 when they traveled to New Orleans for a Sunday Night national television broadcast. Washington was physical, aggressive and frankly manhandled the Saints 40-10. Schottenheimer must have been so proud of his team’s performance.

When the 2001 team finished 8-8 there was a real hope, a real confidence that Marty could bring seasons of winning to Washington. But there was Schottenheimer and Snyder unable to form an agreement on how much power Marty would have over the football team.

Snyder had badly disrupted the 1999 playoff team, playing general manager ruining team chemistry. In Schottenheimer he saw someone strong enough who would seize and demand more control than made Snyder comfortable.  Snyder fired him, went out and hired Steve Spurrier, promising him a general manager that according to Spurrier, never truly materialized.

Schottenheimer never won a Super Bowl, but in his 21 years of NFL head coaching experience he did win 200 games (200-126-1 .613).  Had Snyder simply let Marty do his thing, and Snyder simply given up wanting to be head of player personnel, Washington fans most likely would have enjoyed winning football for a decade and not experienced the Steve Spurrier and Jim Zorn eras.

Might this have been the biggest mistake Snyder made in his years as owner?

Remember when Commanders owner Daniel Snyder wanted Jeff George?

What if Dan Snyder had kept Brad Johnson and never signed Jeff George?

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Washington won the NFC East in 1999.

The then-Redskins had finished 10-6 to win the division and defeated the Lions before traveling to Tampa and losing to the Buccaneers in the second round 14-13.

Daniel Snyder had taken over the ownership of the team following the draft. Charley Casserley had already traded for quarterback Brad Johnson after Trent Green had determined to leave via free agency following the 1998 season.

The 1999 team was at times very exciting offensively. Stephen Davis ran hard for 1,405 yards. Michael Westbrook led the team in receiving yards with 1,191 yards. Brad Johnson passed for 4,005 yards, as well as provided veteran leadership at quarterback the team had not enjoyed in several seasons.

Consequently, when it was time for the next offseason, Mr. Snyder determined he would act as general manager, seeing Casserly had “resigned” just prior to training camp of the ’99 season.

Snyder signed aging veterans to outrageous contracts: Jeff George (4 years, $18 million),  Mark Carrier (5 years, $15.9 million), Bruce Smith (5 years, $25 million), Deion Sanders (7 years, $56 million).

Each veteran had already reached and passed his prime, yet there was Mr. Snyder giving them too much money for the year 2000. Apparently, he had no understanding of team chemistry verses bringing in several outside players and paying them more than your own homegrown players.

Even more, why did he mess with the most important position on the team, quarterback? No doubt Snyder immediately alienated Johnson, and why wouldn’t this move have angered Johnson?

Making things worse, the quarterback Snyder wanted and brought to town was Jeff George. They guy who in 2001 would say leadership was overrated. He had already played in Indianapolis, Atlanta, Oakland and Minnesota. One can only imagine how upset head coach Norv Turner was over such a move by Snyder.

Johnson (7-4 in the games he started) was still Turner’s quarterback, but George would be in the lineup, starting five games as Washington went 1-4 in those games. After a 6-2 start, Washington limped down the stretch to 7-6.

Snyder again thought the only answer was for him to make a huge splash. So he fired head coach Norv Turner. The Redskins looked lost and apathetic losing 32-13 to the Cowboys and 24-3 to the Steelers.

Johnson, a free agent, couldn’t wait to get out of town, left for Tampa and led the Buccaneers to 9-7 in 2001 and a Super Bowl title in the 2002 season.

Mr. Snyder’s quarterback Jeff George, in 2001 started 0-2; the team played so horribly, new coach Marty Schottenheimer determined he was better off without George and cut him.

What on earth had Daniel Snyder been thinking that he thought it would be best to shake up a division winner replacing Brad Johnson with Jeff George?

For Washington fans, we had no idea, it was only the beginning…

Former Commanders OC Scott Turner quickly finds new work

Scott Turner lands with the Raiders.

It didn’t take long for a former Washington Commanders coach to find new work.

Scott Turner, who came to Washington from the Carolina Panthers with Ron Rivera in 2020, has been hired by the Las Vegas Raiders Friday.

Turner was fired by Rivera after the Commanders failed to finish with a winning record for the third consecutive season of Rivera’s tenure in Washington.

Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels was looking for some help coordinating the passing game and chose the Commanders former offensive coordinator as his man.

Interestingly enough, Turner was actually a backup quarterback at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, receiving a bit of playing time in both 2003 and 2004 under then-head coach John Robinson.

Turner had the misfortune all three seasons in Washington of having a revolving door at the quarterback position, as the Washington offense had its struggles in each season. In total, Washington played eight quarterbacks in Turner’s three seasons (Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen, Alex Smith, Taylor Heinicke, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Garrett Gilbert, Carson Wentz and Sam Howell).

“I’m just happy to be a part of the staff, and it’s obviously coach [Josh] McDaniels’ deal, and I’m just going to be ready to contribute and help the best I can,” Turner said Friday. “I’ll get out there and get a feel for the team. It’s just everything’s so new right now.”

The son of former Redskins head coach Norv Turner played quarterback at Oakton High School [Virginia] while his father was coaching the Burgundy and Gold. Following his playing at UNLV, Turner was a graduate assistant at Oregon State and head coach at South County High School in Virginia.

For the next three seasons, Turner was an assistant at the University of Pittsburgh and, in 2017, on the University of Michigan staff.

Turning to the NFL, Turner served on coaching staffs for the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, again the Panthers, and then the last three seasons with Washington.

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Raiders adding UNLV alum, former Commanders OC Scott Turner to staff

Former Commanders OC Scott Turner, UNLV alum, son of Norv Turner joining Raiders to staff

Even without Josh McDaniels letting go of any coaches on his staff from last season, he has added a new assistant. He is former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Scott Turner.

Turner was the OC in Washington under Ron Rivera the past three seasons. He’s also the son of former longtime NFL offensive guru and Raiders head coach Norv Turner.

Prior to his three seasons in Washington, Scott was a QB coach with the Panthers for two season and with the Vikings for three season before that.

Cam Newton had his second best season in terms of passing touchdowns (24) and passer rating (94) in 2018 under Turner. And Teddy Bridgewater went to his only Pro Bowl under Turner in 2015.

Commanders fire offensive coordinator Scott Turner

Scott Turner is relieved of his duties after three seasons as offensive coordinator.

The Washington Commanders fired offensive coordinator Scott Turner Tuesday, two days after Washington’s season-ending win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Just hours before JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington broke the news on Turner’s firing, head coach Ron Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew met with the media, where Rivera was asked about Turner.

“I think Scott did his job, did the things that he tried to do,” Rivera said. “We’re going to self-evaluate and go through that process.”

Turner was fired after a Washington Post report from the weekend stated nine offensive players complained about Turner’s play-calling, with some saying that Turner often tried to outsmart himself, even when the game plan was good.

Rivera released a statement on Turner:

“I met with Coach Turner today and informed him that we will be moving in another direction going forward with the offensive coordinator position,” the statement read. “Unfortunately, we did not live up to the expectations and standard that I expected to see from our offensive unit. I felt it was best for a fresh start at the coordinator position heading into next year. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Scott, and thanked him for his three years of service to our organization. I wish Scott and his family all the best in the future.”

Turner, whose father Norv was head coach of Washington from 1994-2000, was the team’s offensive coordinator for the past three seasons.

We’ll have more on this developing story.

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Former Washington offensive lineman Joe Patton dies

Joe Patton was a third-round pick in 1994.

In some sad news, former Washington offensive tackle Joe Patton died this week. Patton, 50, was a third-round pick by Washington in the 1994 NFL draft and spent five seasons with the team.

On Instagram, his former teammate, Tre Johnson, shared the news of Patton’s passing.

In his five NFL seasons, Patton played in 61 games for Washington, making 54 starts. He was a part of the same draft class as Johnson, which also included quarterbacks Heath Shuler and Gus Frerotte. While the quarterbacks were the headliners, Johnson and Patton were arguably the best players from that draft class.

Patton played college football at Alabama A&M.

In his Instagram post, Johnson noted he posted the news of Patton’s death on social media as a way to “link up with all my brethren who I don’t keep in contact with from those times like I should to not only alert you to this fact but see if you have additional information.”

A pair of longtime Washington sportswriters remembered Patton fondly.

Patton’s head coach in Washington was Norv Turner. Turner’s son, Scott, is now the offensive coordinator of the Commanders.

Two years in, how does Ron Rivera compare?

Ron Rivera just finished his second season as Washington’s head coach. We compare the first two years of every Washington head coach dating back to George Allen.

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Washington coach Ron Rivera completed his second season as the franchise’s head coach Sunday.

The thought occurred to me, since I have been following this team in my childhood, how have other Washington coaches produced in their first two seasons coaching this franchise?

1971: George Allen 9-4-1 regular season; wildcard 4th seed. In his 1972 season, Washington won NFC East Title at 11-3, the number one seed, a 26-3 NFC Championship win over defending Super Bowl Champion Dallas and a trip to Super Bowl VII where they lost 14-7 to the 17-0 Miami Dolphins.

1978: Jack Pardee started 6-0, but faded, finishing 8-8, and his 1979 team finished 10-6, but failed to make a top-four spot for the playoffs.

1981: Enter Joe Jackson Gibbs, who lost his first five games, before closing 8-3 to finish 8-8. His second season Washington was 8-1, plus 4-0 in the playoffs, winning Super Bowl XVII 27-17 over Miami.

1994: Norv Turner was in a total rebuild situation going 3-13 and 6-10 in his first two seasons.

2002: Steve Spurrier’s two seasons 2002-03, Washington was 7-9 and 5-11. You thought it was worse, didn’t you? You see, that proves our standards and expectations were higher then.

2004: Joe Gibbs agreed to return in 2004 going 6-10 and then 10-6 in 2005 with a playoff win at Tampa.

2008: Jim Zorn opened 6-2 in 2008, but then the team finished 8-8, followed by a 4-12 2009 and he was fired.

2010: Mike Shanahan’s first two teams were 6-10 and 5-11.

2014: Jay Gruden after a 4-12 first season won the NFC East at 9-7 in 2015.

2020: Ron Rivera followed a disastrous 2019 when Washington was 3-13, fired Jay Gruden and finished the season with interim coach Bill Callahan. Rivera battled his own cancer, endured the gruesome treatments, yet Washington won the weak NFC East in 2020 at 7-9. In 2021, Washington started 2-6, won four straight then lost four straight to division rivals Dallas and Philadelphia, finishing 7-10.