|
|
Enron Mail |
Norv Turner Fired From the article:
http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,3141082_59,00.html Washington Redskins coach Norv Turner was fired Monday after failing to live up to Super Bowl expectations with the most expensive team in NFL history. Turner was dismissed by owner Dan Snyder one day after a 9-7 loss to the New York Giants. It was the fourth loss in five games for the Redskins (7-6) and third in a row at home, and it moved a team with championship aspirations precariously close to elimination from the playoff race. Passing game coordinator Terry Robiskie was named interim coach. He immediately began holding team meetings for Sunday's game in Dallas. Turner fought back tears as he said goodbye. "I've obviously been put in a good position to have an opportunity to win," Turner said. "This team has a chance to be 10-6. That's a disappointment to me. There's part of me that would like to be a part of it. There's part of me that understands why it's necessary to make a change right now." Turner, 48, earned a reputation as a master strategist with the Dallas Cowboys, where he was the offensive coordinator for two Super Bowl teams in the early 1990s. Some of his game plans in Washington were truly masterful, but his lack of communication skills and inability to keep players focused and motivated led to his downfall. Injuries also slowed the offense. Three starters were lost for the season and several others played hurt. The reconstituted offensive line had its worst day Sunday. However, there were also many unforced errors such as dropped balls, missed blocks and bad snaps. Robiskie, 46, becomes the NFL's third black head coach. He is a former offensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders and was one of Turner's first hires in Washington in 1994. He is known for a tough-love coaching style from his dealings with temperamental Redskins receivers Michael Westbrook and Albert Connell. "He might add a little more fire to it," Connell said. The Redskins also announced Franklin Pepper Rodgers would become vice president of football operations and tight ends coach Pat Flaherty would replace LeCharls McDaniel as special teams coach. Rodgers, a former head coach at Kansas, UCLA and Georgia Tech and at Memphis of the USFL, will head the team's selection process for a new head coach in 2001. ////////// My View: If I'm Turner, I'm happy to be out from under Danny Snyder. That's all I have to say about that. From a FF perspective, I wouldn't be surprised to see the team show an uptick in intensity behind Robiskie. We saw it in Arizona and Cincinnati but the difference here will the be the Redskins have the talent to turn that enthusiasm into productivity on the field. In other news, it looks like QB Jeff George gets another start this weekend after replacing Brad Johnson. Turner had been Johnson's protecting saint so the QB move coinciding with the coaching change is not surprising. See you tonight in our upgrades and downgrades. Joe To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: cheatsheets-unsubscribe@egroups.com
|