Every football fan seems to hate the offensive coordinator. If a team struggles to score, or a quarterback throws an interception or fails to score in the red zone, it’s always the offensive coordinator’s fault.
And, to a degree, some of that is true. After all, the offensive coordinator is responsible for a team’s offensive performance. But if you spend time on Twitter or at a sports bar, you will find someone complaining about an offensive coordinator.
Such is the case with the Washington Commanders and offensive coordinator Scott Turner. Turner, the son of former Washington head coach Norv Turner, has been criticized by fans throughout his three-year tenure. While Turner has made some head-scratching decisions at time, so has Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay in the past. No, I’m not comparing Turner to Shanahan or McVay, but you get the point.
Consider how many quarterbacks Turner has coached in three seasons. And the Commanders still don’t have a long-term answer at the position, yet Washington has won five of its past six games and is firmly in the playoff mix at 6-5.
Some credit must go to Turner, right?
Well, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, Turner is one of several young assistants [under 45] the NFL is closely monitoring for the next round of the interview process in the offseason.
Here’s what Pelissero said of Turner, based on conversations with “NFL executives, coaches and others close to the search process.”
Commanders OC Scott Turner, 40: It’s a credit to Turner — the son of longtime NFL coach Norv Turner — that the Washington offense has been functional the past few seasons, given the revolving door at quarterback and nonstop drama surrounding the organization. Just look at his game plan in Monday night’s upset win over the Eagles, focusing on holding the ball and controlling the game; the Commanders had 25 first downs, converting 12 of them on third down, and had the ball for over 40 minutes. Turner is creative and knows how to adapt to his personnel (or lack thereof). And his eye for young QB talent — for example, plucking Taylor Heinicke as an undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion back in his Vikings days — is a positive trait.
The Commanders had three other assistants in the category of others to watch in future years:
- Secondary coach Chris Harris [40]
- Wide receivers coach Drew Terrell [31]
- Assistant QB coach Luke Del Rio [28]
Harris has received some attention for defensive coordinator positions over the last two offseasons and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him land a promotion in the offseason.
