It's rise and shine for Bolts' Turner

By: MIKE SULLIVAN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, July 25, 2007 11:34 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO -- Imagine all the sleepless nights new Chargers coach Norv Turner dealt with during his previous head coaching stints with Washington and Oakland, where there were more defeats than victories and more headaches than backslaps.

Yet now, handed a team more talented than any other he has coached, Turner just couldn't stay asleep as Wednesday's first practice for rookies approached. Turner was awake at 4 a.m., more than six hours before the newcomers and select veterans hit the field for the first time.

Any Chargers fan who didn't snooze through the entire winter knows that the hiring of Turner, who has a 58-82-1 record as a head coach, attracted some harsh critiques. But Turner, who also has numerous staunch supporters, says he's a much wiser coach as he embarks on his third chance to head an NFL team.

"If you don't learn or grow in every situation you're in, you're foolish," the 55-year-old Turner said. "When I went to Washington (in 1992), I was 40 years old and had never been a head coach. That was a long time ago. I'd like to think that I've grown a lot. I'd like to think I'm a lot better."

Turner inherits a squad that went 14-2 under Marty Schottenheimer last year before suffering a postseason loss to New England. He's familiar with the organization and installed the team's current offense during a stint as offensive coordinator in 2001.

Perhaps an equally crucial element of his previous stop with the Chargers was that he hit it off with A.J. Smith, now the team's general manager. Smith clashed with Schottenheimer, who was fired in February, and hand-picked Turner to be the head coach after interviewing six candidates.

Ever since hiring Turner, Smith has heard the naysayers but has stood firm in his belief that whatever happened in Turner's past has nothing to do with what might happen in 2007.

"I know he hasn't had success as a head coach -- that's been brought up on a number of occasions -- but he didn't coach the Chargers," Smith said after Wednesday's practice. "He's going to have that opportunity.

"I think he's going to be able to put players in the right place at the right time. He recognizes talent; there's no question about that. I think he'll get the ball in the playmakers' hands on a consistent basis.

"I think the game management will be outstanding. I look forward to seeing that unfold."

Turner said the emphasis during his first Chargers' training camp -- the first full-squad workout is Saturday -- will be on building a foundation that will allow the Chargers to be the most complete team in the NFL.

He was impressed by the offseason commitment of the players and believes the attitude of the team is just as good as the talent. He sees a team that is scratching the surface of its potential.

"We've got six or seven guys on each side of the ball who aren't anywhere near to being as good as they can be, and that's exciting," Turner said.

Turner also sees a team that has won 35 regular-season games over the last three years. He's aware that tweaking things is the right approach, as opposed to an overhaul.

"We know what we want to be -- the coaches know, the players know," Turner said. "We won't be out there in the next month experimenting and screwing around with a lot of things that aren't going to make it to the field. We're going to go out there and get real good and continue to build on the things that the Chargers have done real well over the last three years."

As for dealing with heightened expectations that surpass any he dealt with in his two previous gigs, Turner couldn't help but chuckle.

"I've never been anywhere where they expect you to go lose the opening game or any of your games," Turner said. "There are expectations everywhere."

Chargers notes

The Chargers sold all their remaining available regular-season tickets on Wednesday, assuring that their consecutive regular-season and postseason home sellout streak will reach 29 games. "It's fantastic that you can mark 29 straight sellouts for the team," chief operating officer Jim Steeg said. Another crucial aspect in Steeg's view is that Qualcomm Stadium will no longer be a place to find 15,000 to 20,000 fans of the opposing team. "Now they can't get in," he said. The Chargers are still selling a limited number of tickets for preseason games against Seattle (Aug. 12) and San Francisco (Aug. 30). Ö Receivers coach James Lofton was wearing a boot after recent arthroscopic ankle surgery. Ö Rookie free-agent CB Anthony Arline was the only no-show and was placed on the Reserve/Did Not Report list. Ö Former Chargers LB Lew Bush (1993-99) is a coaching intern during training camp. Ö Former coach Marty Schottenheimer used to open training camp with the "Oklahoma Drill," in which players square off in a physical one-on-one situation. Norv Turner said he will use the drill at some point in camp but

knows it by a different name. "I coached at USC in the 70s, and they used to call it the John McKay drill," said Turner, referring to the legendary former Trojans coach.

-- Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or msullivan@nctimes.com. Comment at sports.nctimes.com.

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