Report: Panthers finalizing deal to hire Norv Turner as offensive coordinator
The Carolina Panthers are working on a deal to hire long-time NFL coach Norv Tuner as their offensive coordinator, ESPN reports.
His son Scott is expected to join him in Charlotte as quarterbacks coach, according to the report.
The Panthers fired offensive coordinator Mike Shula and quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey on Tuesday on the heels of a wild-card loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Turner most recently worked as the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings from 2014-16, where Scott acted as quarterbacks coach.
Turner arrived at NFL prominence as the offensive coordinator under Jimmy Johnson for the Dallas Cowboys in the early 1990s, where he was part of a pair of Super Bowl champions led on the field by Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.
Deemed an offensive guru, Turner parlayed his success in Dallas into a pair of longtime head coaching gigs that garnered mixed results at best.
Washington hired him in 1994, where he lasted as head coach until 2000 in spite of just one playoff appearance during his tenure. After short stops in Miami, Oakland and San Francisco, Turner replaced Marty Schottenheimer as head coach of the San Diego Chargers in 2007.
Turner inherited a team coming off a 14-2 season with a wealth of offensive talent led by LaDainian Tomlinson, Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates. The Chargers found consistent regular-season success early in his tenure, but never reached the Super Bowl with what many considered a Super Bowl-caliber roster. Turner was fired following the 2012 season after the Chargers failed to make the playoffs for a third straight year.
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera developed a relationship with Turner in San Diego, where he worked as Turner’s defensive coordinator from 2008-10 before leaving to take the head coaching job in Charlotte.
Turner will be expected to spark to a Panthers offense with dynamic playmakers in Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey that was criticized as often being predictable under Shula’s watch.
