A shocking story came out of Minnesota on Wednesday, just four days before the Vikings play an important NFC North game against the Detroit Lions. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner abruptly resigned. While it’s too soon for all the dirt to emerge – sudden midseason departures are never clean and pretty – it’s not too soon to speculate on how Turner’s departure might affect the team, which has looked bad in losing two straight games after winning its first five. Bad news for the Vikings is good news for the Green Bay Packers.
Exit Norv Turner
The Vikings just lost a highly-respected coach, and one with 32 years of coaching experience in the NFL – that’s even longer (by one year) than Packers’ defensive coordinator Dom Capers has been in the league. He’s been a head coach for 15 of those years, and he has Super Bowl rings as a coordinator from 1992 and 1993 with the Cowboys.
Turner has been the offensive coordinator for the Vikings, Cowboys, Chargers, Dolphins, 49ers, and Browns. In just the last 10 years, Turner-led offenses have produced the league’s leading rusher five times. Under Turner’s systems, running backs have rush for 1,000-plus yards 15 times and he’s also boasted 1,000-plus yard receivers 15 times. In 10 of those years, Turner’s offenses have had a 1,000-plus-yard rusher and receiver in the same season.
In 2015, he helped the Vikings defeat the Packers at Lambeau, and supplant them as the NFC North division champs. In addition to developing second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, he helped receiver Stefon Diggs become the first Vikings rookie to ever lead the team in catches.
This year, Turner overcame the early losses of running back Adrian Peterson and Bridgewater. He also aided new quarterback Sam Bradford, who came over from the Eagles on the eve of the season, in immediately winning games – including besting the Packers on September 18 after only a handful of days with the team.
You get the idea – one of the NFL’s top offensive minds just bailed out on the Packers’ most hated rival.
The announcement is also awkward in that Turner’s son Scott serves on the Vikings’ coaching staff working with the quarterbacks.
Further thrusting the Vikings into turmoil, Turner, in addition to being the offensive coordinator, called the plays for the Vikings offense.
Enter Pat Shurmur
Tight ends coach Pat Shurmur takes Turner’s place, at least on an interim basis. Shurmur’s offensive philosophy is said to be in stark contrast to Turner’s, although he’s said he isn’t going to change much. Shurmur typically favors quick passes and simplified decision-making for his quarterbacks, as opposed to Turner’s vertical offense. And Shurmur will be taking over as the team’s offensive playcaller.
Pat Shurmur has only been with the Vikings since January – but he too has a strong background as an NFL coach. He got his start in 1999 as a tight end and offensive line coach with the Eagles, then went to the Rams, Browns (head coach in 2011-12), back to the Eagles, and finally to the Vikings.
A head coach in Cleveland, Shurmur was the offensive coordinator with the Eagles from 2013-15. Bradford joined that team in his final year there. Shurmur was also offensive coordinator for the Rams back in 2010, when they selected Bradford as the top overall draft choice.
Some Packers fans might be aware that Shurmur is the nephew of longtime NFL coach and former Green Bay defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur. Fritz coached on five NFL teams over 23 years. His crowning moment came when, late in his career, he was a coach with the 1996 Super-Bowl-winning Packers squad.
Mike Zimmer’s Outsized Personality
I haven’t wasted my time following the career of the current head coach of the Vikings. I did notice, however, that after his team’s first loss of the year to the Eagles on October 23, during the press conference the day following the game he was still upset and irritated. He expressed his profound displeasure throughout, and repeatedly called his team’s performance “dumb” and “uncharacteristic.” He added, almost prophetically, “This is a gut check day… We’re going to change some things up this week.”
The gut check apparently was a disappointment, as the team played even worse last Monday night in its loss to the lowly Bears. At the tense post-game presser, Zimmer gave a three-minute demonstration of curtness and negativity. Turner’s resignation took place after the team’s next practice.
Zimmer has always displayed anger management issues, but he seems to be getting worse. A bit of Googling reveals that even when he was a defensive coordinator for the Bengals in 2013, someone gave this description: “Here’s something we can confirm about Mike Zimmer. He’s a $%$%^$^&$#$#$#@#@$ and ALL CAPS kind of guy. Mike Zimmer is LOUD and SWEARY and CURSEY!” The web site included a link to the video clip, but the NFL has since had it removed.
If the Vikings lose a third straight game to the Lions on Sunday, there’s no telling how Zimmer will react.
Why Did Norv Turner Resign So Suddenly?
When Zimmer announced Turner’s resignation on Wednesday, he said he was “very surprised,” and he described Turner as his good friend and “right-hand man.” He indicated the reasons Turner gave him were personal and that he won’t go into it any further. I don’t see where anyone in the media has yet to provide a good explanation for Turner’s decision.
Until a better reason for the shocking departure comes along, I think it’s a good guess that Turner simply had his fill of Zimmer’s anger and drama.
We’ll find out over the next few weeks how big of a setback Turner’s loss is to the Vikings, and to the team’s quite-sudden rise toward the top of the NFC.
Thinking beyond the Vikings’ immediate crisis, I have to wonder whether Mike Zimmer, has the right personality for motivating his players and for producing quality teams that will annually challenge the Packers for the next decade or so. I now have to doubt that scenario, in part because Zimmer is already (and surprisingly) 60 years old, and at the rate he’s going he won’t make it to 70. Though he’s shown some ability as a head coach, I think the guy’s going to burn out in a hurry.
What do you think, Killer?