In Spite of Win, San Diego Chargers Must Fire Norv Turner

The fact that Norv Turner is still the head coach of the San Diego Chargers is one of the more perplexing situations in the NFL. There have been questions about whether he should be the head guy in San Diego since the end of last season—and even before.

Players aren’t trying to get their coach fired, but Turner has been the head of a consistently underachieving—and, at times, imploding—group.

GM A.J. Smith is well aware of that. If his job is on the line as well, he’ll have to look into alternative options in head coaching.

Either way, a win over the Kansas City Chiefs shouldn’t alter their respective states of affairs in terms of job security. With the hot seat seemingly boiling for months as it has, one win over anyone isn’t going to bring too much relief.

A loss to the Chiefs, however, may have sent things over the edge. This is a Kansas City team that has led for a grand total of zero seconds in regulation this season.

We’re in Week 9, folks.

The 1-7 team has only won an overtime brawl with the New Orleans Saints in Week 3—and the Saints haven’t stopped anyone this year.

Former San Diego superstar running back LaDainian Tomlinson suggested Wednesday on the Dan Patrick Show (h/t nfl.com) that his old coach and GM would be on the chopping block if the Chargers don’t make it to the postseason this winter.

At 4-4 in the comparatively weak AFC, San Diego stands a real chance of getting to the playoffs on paper—but 4-4 doesn’t tell the whole story. The Chargers spectacularly lost three consecutive games against the Saints, Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns.

They dropped a 10-point lead to the Saints in Week 5, giving up 17 straight points to Drew Brees and company to lose by a score of 31-24. After that, San Diego squandered a 24-point lead by allowing 35 unanswered points to the Denver Broncos in Week 6.

In Week 8, the Chargers didn’t give up a massive lead—because they scored six points on the Browns, a team that has allowed an average of 25.7 points per game to opponents that don’t play their home games in San Diego. That does not bode well for Chargers decision-makers.

If Turner and/or Smith were under consideration to be fired prior to the Chargers’ well-timed matchup with Kansas City, beating a struggling Chiefs team should not reverse that decision.

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