From: bryant@cheatsheets.net
To: cheatsheets@egroups.com
Date: 2000-12-04 14:10:00+00:00
Subject: [cheatsheets] Breaking News - Norv Turner Fired

Norv Turner Fired   From the article:
http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,3141082_59,00.html   Washington
Redskins coach Norv Turner was fired Monday after failing to live up to
Super Bowl expectations with the most expensive team in NFL history.  Turner
was dismissed by owner Dan Snyder one day after a 9-7 loss to the New York
Giants. It was the fourth loss in five games for the Redskins (7-6) and
third in a row at home, and it moved a team with championship aspirations
precariously close to elimination from the playoff race.
Passing game coordinator Terry Robiskie was named interim coach. He
immediately began holding team meetings for Sunday's game in Dallas.
Turner fought back tears as he said goodbye.
"I've obviously been put in a good position to have an opportunity to win,"
Turner said. "This team has a chance to be 10-6. That's a disappointment to
me. There's part of me that would like to be a part of it. There's part of
me that understands why it's necessary to make a change right now."
Turner, 48, earned a reputation as a master strategist with the Dallas
Cowboys, where he was the offensive coordinator for two Super Bowl teams in
the early 1990s. Some of his game plans in Washington were truly masterful,
but his lack of communication skills and inability to keep players focused
and motivated led to his downfall.
Injuries also slowed the offense. Three starters were lost for the season
and several others played hurt.
The reconstituted offensive line had its worst day Sunday. However, there
were also many unforced errors such as dropped balls, missed blocks and bad
snaps.
Robiskie, 46, becomes the NFL's third black head coach. He is a former
offensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders and was one of Turner's first
hires in Washington in 1994. He is known for a tough-love coaching style
from his dealings with temperamental Redskins receivers Michael Westbrook
and Albert Connell.
"He might add a little more fire to it," Connell said.
The Redskins also announced Franklin Pepper Rodgers would become vice
president of football operations and tight ends coach Pat Flaherty would
replace LeCharls McDaniel as special teams coach.
Rodgers, a former head coach at Kansas, UCLA and Georgia Tech and at Memphis
of the USFL, will head the team's selection process for a new head coach in
2001.
//////////

My View:  If I'm Turner, I'm happy to be out from under Danny Snyder.
That's all I have to say about that.  From a FF perspective, I wouldn't be
surprised to see the team show an uptick in intensity behind Robiskie.  We
saw it in Arizona and Cincinnati but the difference here will the be the
Redskins have the talent to turn that enthusiasm into productivity on the
field.  In other news, it looks like QB Jeff George gets another start this
weekend after replacing Brad Johnson.  Turner had been Johnson's protecting
saint so the QB move coinciding with the coaching change is not surprising.

See you tonight in our upgrades and downgrades.

Joe


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