Commanders OC Scott Turner Fired; Washington Finished 20th in Total Offense

The Washington Commanders will be looking for a new offensive coordinator for next season.

The NFC East team announced it fired offensive coordinator Scott Turner on Tuesday. The official decision came shortly after ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Turner was "on shaky ground" after the team missed the playoffs with a struggling offense.

Head coach Ron Rivera released a statement regarding the move:

"I met with Coach Turner today and informed him that we will be moving in another direction going forward with the offensive coordinator position. 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 has experience as an assistant coach in both the college and NFL ranks, having made stops with the Pittsburgh Panthers, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Michigan Wolverines and Commanders.

He took over as the offensive coordinator for Washington ahead of the 2020 season but did not find much success in his three years.

The offense finished 30th in the league in yards in his first season, 21st in his second and 20th in his third. The scoring wasn't much better, as the 2021 team that was 23rd in the NFL in points was the best in that category out of Turner's units.

In fairness, he wasn't exactly working with a list of future Hall of Famers at quarterback this past season.

Carson Wentz started seven games, while Taylor Heinicke started nine. Rookie Sam Howell started the final one, which was a stunning victory over the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys in which he threw for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The rushing attack also left plenty to be desired with Brian Robinson Jr. averaging 3.9 yards per carry and Antonio Gibson posting 3.7 yards per carry.

There are plenty of question marks surrounding the offense heading into the offseason, with wide receiver Terry McLaurin about the only surefire bright spot. Whoever takes over for Turner will have a daunting task without some personnel improvements, but the bar was set fairly low the past three seasons in terms of offensive production.