Turner Faces Super Bowl-Or-Else Expectations in San Diego
Team-By-Team Offseason Roundup
San Diego Chargers
Coaching Change
Fired: Marty Schottenheimer
Hired: Norv Turner
Players Released:
Keenan McCardell, S
Steve Foley, LB
Terrence Kiel, S
Ryan Krause, TE
Free Agents Lost:
Donnie Edwards, LB
Az-Zahir Hakim, WR
Free Agents Re-Signed:
Kris Dielman, G
Cory Withrow, C
Carlos Polk, LB
Free Agents Added:
None
Draft:
Rd. 1 (No. 30 overall) Craig Davis, WR, LSU
2 (37) Eric Weddle, S, Utah
3 (96) Anthony Waters, LB, Clemson
4 (129) Scott Chandler, TE, Iowa
5 (172) Legedu Naanee, WR, Boise State
7 (240) Brandon Siler, LB, Florida
Analysis:
No one in the league took a bigger risk this offseason than San Diego Chargers President Dean Spanos. Finally fed up with the inability of Coach Marty Schottenheimer and General Manager A.J. Smith to coexist peacefully, Spanos fired Schottenheimer even after initially deciding on the heels of the club's playoff loss to the New England Patriots to retain the coach.
As a replacement, Spanos and Smith hired former Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders coach Norv Turner, most recently the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. At first glance, the move makes no sense. Schottenheimer was fired in large part because of his playoff failures, because Spanos thought the Chargers were a Super Bowl-caliber club last season and Schottenheimer didn't get them there. Turner never has exactly been the answer as a head coach for a team seeking postseason success.
But now Turner finally has a Super Bowl-worthy club at his disposal, and the Chargers were seeking continuity. Turner is their former offensive coordinator, and the team will continue to run the offensive system that Turner installed and then handed off to Cam Cameron, who left San Diego during the offseason to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. The Chargers want to take another Super Bowl shot with a collection of players that went 14-2 during the regular season last year.
Their offseason roster moves amounted to mere tinkering. They managed to re-sign guard Kris Dielman when it appeared they were about to lose him in free agency. They said their free-agent goodbyes to linebacker Donnie Edwards and released safety Terrence Kiel, linebacker Steve Foley and veteran wide receiver Keenan McCardell. Smith restocked those positions in the early rounds of the draft, getting LSU wideout Craig Davis in the first round, Utah safety Eric Weddle in the second round and Clemson linebacker Anthony Waters in the third round.
The Chargers still have tailback LaDainian Tomlinson and tight end Antonio Gates. Young quarterback Philip Rivers should continue to improve. The defense remains fearsome. This is still one of the top teams in the league, and still a Super Bowl front-runner. But if the Chargers fall short again, there will be plenty of room to wonder if Spanos did the right thing.
By Mark Maske |
June 1, 2007; 10:35 AM ET
| Category:
Chargers
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Posted by: PatsFan | June 1, 2007 11:37 AM
I'm not sold on the Patriots winning it all yet ... not that I'm any good at these predictions. I just wonder what the Patriots are giving up when they go to this style of offseason ... not talking Randy Moss in particular - more about having shaken up a large part of the team in free agency. It hasn't really been their style in the past. Of course, no guarantees on my picks :-)
Posted by: Gonzo, MD | June 1, 2007 1:06 PM
This team will be very good, but they open with a killer schedule: Bears, Pats, @ Lambeau, Chiefs, then @ Denver.
Mid-season, they've got the Colts, the Jags and the Ravens.
I lack faith in Norv, but if they can open 4-1 or even 3-2, they will take the division.
Posted by: RaiderFan | June 4, 2007 6:49 AM
Being married to a Skins fan gave me a little first hand experience on the Norvster.
As head coach of the Skins he didn't win all that much. Then again, he took over a team on the decline (everybody gets old) and Jack Kent Cooke passed, leaving the Skins with the Danny. So much for building a team. (we shall see if the Danny's method works for the Pat's - at least they have Brady and a bunch of other players in their prime).
After DC, the Norvster did a few stints as O-Coordinator, including the Bolts, before getting the head coach job with the Raiders. Man, you thought he drew a bad hand at DC.
At any rate, the best thing the Norvster can do at SD is not change the offense he installed as O-Coordinator.
My biggest question the Bolts is not the Norvster - I can't get much info on the new D-Coordinator. Anybody out there care to share some info on him?
Posted by: BoltsFan | June 4, 2007 1:33 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
They seem to still have the on-field talent and Rivers should be somewhat improved. I think the Pats have leap-frogged them but I would still pick the Bolts over the Colts - even with the coaching changes. Week 2 is too soon to get a good feel for a team so I think the Pats game will be over-hyped. We'll find out just how good the Bolts are in November (and January) with games at home against Indy and Baltimore and on the road in Jacksonville. Early guess says 13-3 with losses to the Pats, Broncos, and Indy or Baltimore or Tennessee. That gets them a 2 seed and a trip to Foxboro in January.