A day after the Chargers saw their 2009 season come to an end, Head Coach Norv Turner acknowledged the disappointment in how his team’s 13-3 campaign turned out.
However he also focused his club’s future and voiced a strong sense of optimism over what he believes is building in San Diego.
“We’ve got an outstanding football team,” Turner said. “We have good players and great character players and people that you want to be around on a daily basis. They will get this thing done. There’s no question in my mind.”
Turner was pointed when asked to clarify if “getting it done” meant winning a championship in the near future.
“That’s our intention and that’s our goal,” Turner said. “I believe this team is capable of coming back and putting itself in position to make a run at it over the next period of time. We all want to go win a Super Bowl.”
The Chargers’ fourth-consecutive playoff appearance ended Sunday with their loss to the Jets, but Turner views the 2009 season as one in which San Diego took some positive steps forward, ones that he believes will help them down the road. He referenced the Indianapolis Colts, who fought through adversity and won a championship after five-consecutive postseason appearances. They’ve now bounced back from two early departures in the playoffs at the hands of the Chargers and are once again in the AFC Championship Game.
“There are things that you have to overcome in this league,” Turner said. “I think our team understands those things and like I said, we have the type of guys that will do that. I think the future for this football team is outstanding.”
While unsatisfied with the ultimate outcome, Turner said Monday that he’s proud of the way so many young players stepped up and contributed to the second-best regular season record in franchise history. He believes the young players that gained valuable experience this year will vastly improve and be even bigger assets in San Diego’s pursuit of a championship.
“This team in a lot of areas has gotten younger,” Turner said. “We’ve had a lot of young guys make strong contributions to this team and a lot of guys stepped up that you wouldn’t have expected. For those guys, growing as football players, that’s a success. If you continue to grow, then the ultimate success of going and winning a Super Bowl, that’s what we want to do and that’s how I think we’ll determine our success.”
