Once criticized, Turner now getting critical acclaim

SAN DIEGO -- Quick question: How did Norv Turner get so smart in such a short time?

You know what I'm talking about. A year ago he was supposed to be the reason the San Diego Chargers wouldn't make it to the top because, frankly, few people outside the team's Murphy Canyon headquarters trusted him.

Turner: The right man to coach the Chargers. (US Presswire)

Now, all of sudden, that's changed. Now he's a popular pick as the next head coach you'll see making his first Super Bowl appearance.

So what happened?

How about nothing ... and everything. Turner is the same head coach who was canned in Oakland after two seasons and bounced from Washington one year after guiding the Redskins to the playoffs. Only there's one difference: Now he has an abundance of talented players and a general manager and an owner who trust him.

"We have the right coach at the right time," GM A.J. Smith said.

Smith is the guy who took a chance on Turner, only he doesn't see it that way. From the beginning, he was sold on Turner as a head coach. He only needed an opportunity to hire him ... and he got it when the club soured on Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season in 2006.

It wasn't Schottenheimer's regular-season record that rattled Smith; it was his performance in the playoffs. He was 0-2. So Smith made the unpopular move of replacing him with Turner, and look what happened: The Chargers went to the AFC Championship Game and now are colored as Super Bowl threats.

"In three years we had two (playoff) shots, both at home," Smith said. "And we lost. Not good. So we needed to figure it out. Now here comes Norv Turner, and (the feeling was) What? You really screwed it up because of your ego -- your ego and your personality conflict with Marty. But the reality was that there wasn't a personality conflict. I just didn't think he could help us.

"Now I think we have a fighting chance. If we win enough games, and we're fortunate enough to get into the postseason I think we have the ability to make something happen. I obviously believe in Norv Turner."

His reasoning is clear: Turner won what Smith described as "pressure-packed games," including a playoff defeat of the Colts in Indianapolis, and that's what Smith envisioned when he hired him.

The road there, however, was full of potholes, with Turner stumbling to a 1-3 start and fans calling for Schottenheimer during the second half of a home loss to Kansas City. But he corrected the team's course in the second half of the season -- with no victory more important than a come-from-behind overtime defeat of Tennessee.

"Did I ever doubt him?" linebacker Shawne Merriman asked. "No. He came in knowing what he had on his hands. He had to facilitate that, and he did it."