Coach

Norv Turner, whose teams have won three of the last four AFC Western Division Championships, has led one of the most successful eras in Chargers history.

Named NFL Coach of the Year by USA Today in 2009, Turner’s accomplishments in the last four seasons are among the best in franchise history. His 41 wins over the four-year stretch are second only to the team’s 42 from 1978-81, and he and Don Coryell are tied for the most AFC West titles in a four-year period (three). Turner’s winning percentage in the regular season (.641) is the franchise’s best, as is his combined mark (.629), including playoffs, and he’s tied with Coryell and Bobby Ross for the most playoff wins in team history (three). Turner has saved some of his best coaching for late in the season as evidenced by his 28-7 regular-season record after Nov. 1, including 17-2 in December and January.

Turner earned his 100th career regular-season win against the Minnesota Vikings on September 11, 2011.

In 2010, Turner’s Chargers led the NFL in total offense and total defense. San Diego finished the season strong, winning seven of its last nine.

The Chargers led the NFL in 2010 in total offense (395.6 ypg), average yards per play (6.1) and yards per pass play (8.7). They scored the second-most points in the NFL (441) and averaged 27.6 points per game, becoming the NFL’s first team ever to average more than 25.0 points a game for seven consecutive seasons, including four-straight under Turner.

Turner faced one of the more challenging seasons of his NFL coaching career in 2010 as the Chargers’ roster endured constant change throughout the season. Seventy-four different players appeared in at least one game for the Bolts, equaling Arizona’s NFL record (2005) for the most players in a nonstrike season. In total, the Chargers made 109 roster moves between final cuts (Sept. 4) and the end of the regular season.

Despite the constant roster shuffling, the Chargers offense rarely wavered. At the end of the year, the Chargers were one of only two NFL teams to feature a quarterback with at least 30 touchdown passes, a running back with at least 10 rushing touchdowns and a receiver or tight end with at least 10 touchdown catches. It’s a feat that had been achieved only one other time in franchise history (1981).

The Chargers’ running game also showed significant progress in 2010. After falling to 31st among the league’s 32 teams in 2009, the Chargers ranked 15th in 2010 and showing balance, they were the NFL’s only team to register more than 4,500 yards thru the air and 1,800 on the ground.

From 2007-09, Turner became the first Chargers coach to start his career with three-straight division titles. A feat no NFL coach had accomplished since Barry Switzer won three straight NFC East titles with Dallas from 1994-96.

Quarterback Philip Rivers has been a shining star in Turner’s offense. He led the NFL with 4,710 passing yards in 2010, his third-straight 4,000-yard season, equaling the franchise best.

In 2008, Turner led the Chargers through one of the greatest turnaround seasons in NFL history. His team started 4-8, but won its final four to close the season 8-8. The Chargers won the AFC West and became the first team in the current division format to win their division when trailing by three games with three left to play. Turner then led the Chargers to a thrilling 23-17 overtime win against Indianapolis in the Wild Card Playoffs and into the Divisional Playoffs for a second consecutive year.

Turner’s first season at the helm in San Diego in 2007 was filled with excitement. He led the team to a career-high 11 wins and became just the second head coach in team history to win the AFC West in his first season. Turner also became the first Chargers coach since Ross to win a playoff game in his first season, winning not just one, but two as San Diego defeated Tennessee in the Wild Card Playoffs and Indianapolis on the road in the Divisional round. The run ended in New England in the AFC Championship Game, but not before Turner became only the sixth head coach in NFL history to lead a team to the championship game in his first season at the helm.

Chargers fans were given a glimpse of Turner’s offensive wizardry in 2001 when he spent a season as the team’s offensive coordinator. The offense improved 17 spots in the rankings, surging from from 28th to 11th, while finishing the season with a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher, and 1,000-yard receiver for only the second time in team history.

Turner left San Diego after the 2001 season, spending the next five years between Miami, Oakland and San Francisco. He spent two seasons as the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator (2002-03), two as the Raiders’ head coach (2004-05) and one as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator (2006). Six years later on Feb. 19, 2007, he returned to the Chargers.

Turner was born in the Bay Area suburb of Martinez, California, the same city that produced baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. He grew up the middle of five children, all of whom were raised by his mother, Vicky, a single parent. Vicky battled multiple sclerosis, spending the latter years of her life in a wheelchair before her passing in 1989. Turner’s oldest sister, Janis, also suffers from the disease. Turner serves on the board of the San Diego Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and last May served as the Honorary Chair for the MS Society’s Golf Invitational at the La Jolla Country Club.

Before she died, Vicky steered her sons toward sports. Norv’s younger brother, Ron, followed in his footsteps,excelling on the collegiate gridiron and later in the coaching profession. Ron spent nine years (2001-09), including an NFC Championship season in 2006, as the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts.

As a teenager, Turner played quarterback and safety at Alhambra High School in Martinez. He earned a scholarship to the University of Oregon and won three varsity letters (1972-74) as a quarterback for the Ducks, spending two of his three seasons as the backup to former Charger and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts. One of the assistant coaches on Oregon’s staff, John Robinson, would later give Turner his first big break as a coach. First though, Turner landed a job as a graduate assistant at Oregon in 1975.

Robinson accepted the head coaching job at the University of Southern California in 1976, and he invited Turner to join him. Turner spent the next nine seasons in Los Angeles, winning four Rose Bowls and a national championship in 1978. He coached wide receivers, defensive backs, quarterbacks and served as the Trojans’ offensive coordinator. In 1980, Turner tutored what is regarded by many as one of the finest defensive backfields in college football history, featuring safeties Ronnie Lott and Dennis Smith, both of whom went on to become NFL first-round draft choices in 1981. The backfield also included Joey Browner, who was drafted in the first round in 1983 by Minnesota, and a cornerback named Jeff Fisher, who would leave USC as a seventh round draft pick and later become the head coach of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans.

In 1985 Turner landed his first NFL coaching job when Robinson hired him as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Rams, assigning him to work alongside offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese, a disciple of the “Air Coryell” offense. Zampese taught Turner the ins and outs of the offensive system made famous by former Chargers Head Coach Don Coryell.

In 1991, Jimmy Johnson hired Turner as the offensive coordinator in Dallas. It proved to be a turning point in Turner’s career as the Cowboys won back-to-back Super Bowl titles (XXVII and XXVIII) following the ’92 and ’93 seasons. Turner worked with three future NFL Hall of Famers in Dallas: quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin. Turner almost single-handedly resurrected Aikman’s career in Dallas. In the two seasons before Turner’s arrival, Aikman threw just 20 touchdown passes and 36 interceptions. In his first season in Turner’s offense, Aikman posted the first positive touchdown-to-interception ratio of his career and led the Cowboys to the NFC Divisional Playoffs. A year later, Aikman passed for a career-high 3,445 yards with 23 touchdowns while leading Dallas to a 13-3 record and its first NFC East title since 1985. Aikman continued his ascent in the playoffs, directing the Cowboys to three-straight postseason wins en route to capturing MVP honors following Dallas’ 52-17 win over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII. The following year, Aikman completed a franchise-record 69.1 percent of his passes and led the Cowboys to a second-consecutive Super Bowl win over the Bills. And when he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, Aikman asked Turner to be his presenter.

Smith and Irvin also flourished under Turner. They led the NFL in rushing and receiving, respectively, in 1991, marking the first time since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 that teammates led the league in both categories. Since then it hashappened only one other time (Indianapolis, 1999).

Catapulting off his success in Dallas, Turner earned his first head-coaching assignment, joining the Washington Redskins in 1994. He spent seven seasons in Washington, leading the Redskins to four winning seasons and the NFC East title in 1999. During his tenure, Turner was a mentor to Pro Bowl quarterbacks Brad Johnson and Gus Frerotte. Johnson flourished in Turner’s offense, throwing for 4,005 yards in ’99, only the second 4,000-yard season in Redskins history.

Several running backs also have flourished in Turner’s offensive system. Three won NFL rushing titles while playing for Turner, including LaDainian Tomlinson (2007), Smith (1991-93) and Miami’s Ricky Williams (2002).

Turner, his wife, Nancy, and their youngest son, Drew, live in Del Mar, California. Drew is in his senior year at the University of San Diego. Their daughter, Stephanie, lives in Los Angeles, is an actress who has appeared in several movies and television shows, and is the creator and content provider for FootballBrat.com Oldest son Scott has followed in the coaching footsteps of his father and uncle and serves as the offensive quality control coach for the Carolina Panthers.