Commanders Fire OC Scott Turner
NFL Week 18 - The Washington Commanders have fired offensive coordinator Scott Turner. Washington finished 28th in offensive DVOA en route to an 8-8-1 finish.
Statement from HC Ron Rivera
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) January 10, 2023
Turner served as a quarterbacks coach under Ron Rivera in Carolina, serving as offensive coordinator for four games after Rivera's termination before being hired as Washington's offensive coordinator in 2020. In three years under Turner, Washington never finished higher than 21st in offensive DVOA.
Turner's tenure was also full of offensive turnover, specifically at the quarterback position. Between 2020 and 2022, eight different quarterbacks started games in Turner's offense. No quarterback over that span started the first and last game of a season.
Prior to his role as an NFL offensive coordinator, Turner served as a positional coach for the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns.
Comments
10 comments, Last at 12 Jan 2023, 1:46pm
#1 by MJK // Jan 10, 2023 - 6:24pm
As a Patriots fan, I see all these teams firing their offensive staff (Arizona, Tennessee, and now Washington), and can't help but think "Wow, as bad as these guys are, any one of them would have been an upgrade over Patricia/Judge..."
#2 by dmb // Jan 10, 2023 - 6:55pm
Turner brought some clever play designs to the table, but struggled a bit as a playcaller. I know everyone thinks they could do better at calling plays than the bums on TV, but in Turner's case he was noticeably bad at sequencing: rather than early plays setting up the defense for later concepts, Turner would call a bunch of stuff that's fine in isolation but never added up to a cohesive strategy.
He had three years and never produced great results so I think the firing is justified, but given the QBs he's had, if he grows as a playcaller I wouldn't be shocked if he succeeded elsewhere.
#5 by jackiel // Jan 11, 2023 - 9:42am
Yes, it should be obvious by now that cronyism and nepotism are often key reasons why someone gets a coaching job in the NFL. I wish more fans realized this when cheering for their teams. Many NFL coaches aren't in their roles because they are the most qualified people for their jobs. They are there because they know somebody. The natural conclusion to this phenomenon is that the organization isn't as committed to winning as much as people think.
#6 by Will Allen // Jan 11, 2023 - 10:25am
I think the league would do itself a favor if it instituted a rule prohibiting children of the head coach from being on the staff. Of course, it may raise some uncomfortable questions about the owner's idiot children.....