San Diego Chargers: Keeping Norv Turner and A.J. Smith Was the Right Decision

The San Diego Chargers finished the season with an offense ranked sixth in the NFL. This is quite the accomplishment considering that Phillip Rivers managed to have his worst output since 2007.

Rivers has had a quarterback rating over 100 in the last three seasons. Much of that success is a result of Norv Turner’s ability to coach an NFL offense. Rivers is the most important player for the San Diego Chargers right now, and it is vital for any team to keep their most valuable asset happy so that they can produce at a high level.

The relationship which Norv Turner and Phillip Rivers have developed cannot be ignored as Rivers has been familiar with the Norv Turner system since the beginning of his career. This system has been implemented in San Diego since 2001.

Their relationship has grown strong and Rivers' support of Turner held a lot of weight in the final decision to keep Turner. As Phillip Rivers leads, the San Diego Chargers follow. Bringing in a new head coach would have meant a complete alteration of the offensive system, leading to transition and major adjustments.

However, the San Diego Chargers are not in a situation where they need to start a rebuilding project just yet.

The reality is that Norv Turner had a hard job over the last two seasons with the amount of turnover at many different positions due to multiple injuries. This fact has made the Chargers one of the teams that activated the most players to their roster for the past two years.

The injuries to the offensive line took a toll on the team and on the structure which Norv Turner tried to implement.

They had the same problem on the defensive side of the ball to the level that even rookie Bront Bird was taking numerous snaps towards the end of the season. With the amount of injuries that the Chargers have suffered over the past two years, one could argue that Norv actually kept the team somewhat intact—and that a harsh assessment of his progress is not fair.

Rivers completed passes to 17 different receivers in the 2010 season. This is unheard of considering the amount of actual skill players on an active roster.

One could argue that the actual problem for the San Diego Chargers is the medical training staff, which has been publicly scrutinized by former Charger players and also came under fire during the season when Kris Dielman was allowed to continue playing while he was concussed.

I would imagine that it is difficult for any manager (head coach) to run any organization (team) when there is a high level of turnover and instability. With that being said, you could also argue that A.J. Smith has actually done a great job at the general manager position.

A.J. Smith has a love-hate relationship with the San Diego fan base. However, the reality is that he has been faced with many difficult decisions as a result of his ability to create opportunities for the team through the draft.

A.J. Smith is a general manager who is not afraid of making difficult decisions and who also will not allow himself to be forced to do something he is not comfortable with. As a result of this demeanor it is hit or miss for him, hence the firing of Marty Schottenheimer.

There are, however, more positives with A.J. Smith than negatives. He managed to not only get a great quarterback in Phillip Rivers, but also a great kicker in Nate Keading and a Defensive Rookie of the Year in Shawne Merriman, when he made the Eli Manning trade.

He also had a phenomenal find in Antonio Gates. He put together one of the best backfields ever with “Turner, Neal, Tomlinson” (“TNT”) and consistently finds gems in the draft.

Vincent Jackson (61st pick, 2005 NFL Draft), Eric Weddle (37th pick, 2007), Marcus McNeill (50th pick, 2006), Michael Turner (154th pick, 2004), Darren Sproles (130th pick, 2005), Shaun Phillips (98th pick, 2004) and Louis Vasquez (78th pick, 2009 Draft) have all made contributions to the Chargers.

This is a formidable list of draftees who weren't taken in the first round of the NFL Draft. If there is anyone who can help the San Diego Chargers protect Phillip Rivers' blind side, create lanes for Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert, find a young star on the defensive side of the ball and find a special teams dynamo, it is A.J. Smith.

He and his team have developed a knack for finding talent and taking a chance on them. You also need to keep A.J. Smith because he believes in Norv Turner, and if any other person is to take over Smith's GM job, their first move very likely would be to get rid of Norv Turner.

This move would upset Phillip Rivers, creating more problems in San Diego than solutions.

If the Chargers can find stability with the players who are on the field, the possibilities are endless. However, in order to try to find stability at the player level, Dean Spanos had to make the difficult decision of keeping stability at the top.

Regardless of the feelings of the fan base, one cannot argue against the fact that Norv Turner is a phenomenal offensive mind.  

If the Chargers can find a great defensive mind as his assistant coach, who is also a motivator, they could easily find themselves on top of the AFC West in 2012.