Turner emerges as favorite for Cowboys job
Tom Orsborn
Express-News
Meanwhile in Irving, the Dallas Cowboys were busy interviewing Norv Turner, who helped Troy Aikman put together a similar spread in the early 1990s and could soon have the chance to do the same for Tony Romo.
Turner, 54, was the seventh and likely last candidate to interview for a head coaching job that became vacant when Bill Parcells retired seven days ago.
"I was excited to get a chance to visit and talk about things that are important to me," said Turner, San Francisco's offensive coordinator and Aikman's presenter last summer when he was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
"I've got a lot of confidence in the things I can do," Turner said.
The Cowboys didn't offer Turner the job. But he's considered the frontrunner to become the team's seventh coach and the sixth hired by Jerry Jones because of his relationship with the owner.
Jones hasn't offered a timetable for hiring a coach. He's scheduled to fly to Miami on Thursday, sparking speculation that an announcement could come within the next few days.
"I had a chance to get a real good idea what (Jones) is thinking and what he's looking at," Turner said. "I was able to share a lot of my thoughts with him."
Turner is 59-83-1 as a head coach, with stops in Washington and Oakland. Both teams fired him, leading observers to rate him a far better coordinator than coach.
While running the Cowboys' offense from 1991-93, Turner called the plays that led to two Super Bowl titles and helped make stars of Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and receiver Michael Irvin.
If hired again by Jones, Turner would be expected to do the same with Romo.
"My exposure to Tony is just from watching games on TV," Turner told reporters in Irving. "Certainly, he's an exciting player capable of making plays. And really that's a big part of what this game is about, what this league is about. There's not a lot of guys that have that natural, great playmaking ability."
Turner is poised to inherit an offense that averaged the fourth-most points in the league. It's a unit that includes a Pro Bowl tight end (Jason Witten), two 1,000-yard receivers (Terry Glenn, Terrell Owens) and two talented young running backs (Julius Jones, Marion Barber),
There's also a young, up-and-comer on the coaching staff in newly hired Jason Garrett, who spent the past two seasons as the Miami Dolphins' quarterbacks coach and was Aikman's longtime backup.
The Cowboys hired Garrett for an undetermined job after interviewing him for head coach. He's expected to become offensive coordinator if Jones hires Turner.
Turner said he tried to add Garrett to his staff in Oakland.
"That tells you a little something about how I feel about Jason," Turner said.
Turner also might feel comfortable working with Owens after having dealt with other high-maintenance receivers in Irvin and Oakland's Randy Moss.
"I want to coach good players," Turner said. "Being with a new team, there's an evaluation process, and there's a lot of things that go into it. I like the players that are here, and T.O. is one of them."
Turner also has helped several running backs shine. Last season, the 49ers Frank Gore led the league with 1,685 yards.
Turner's visit to the Cowboys headquarters was his first since the Redskins hired him in February 1994.
"It's just a very, very unique place," he said. "When you're away from it some time, you don't realize it. But it certainly hit me at Troy's Hall of Fame induction ceremony — the Cowboys fans, all the people wearing Troy's jersey, just the excitement and energy that's always there with this organization."
Express-News
Meanwhile in Irving, the Dallas Cowboys were busy interviewing Norv Turner, who helped Troy Aikman put together a similar spread in the early 1990s and could soon have the chance to do the same for Tony Romo.
Turner, 54, was the seventh and likely last candidate to interview for a head coaching job that became vacant when Bill Parcells retired seven days ago.
"I was excited to get a chance to visit and talk about things that are important to me," said Turner, San Francisco's offensive coordinator and Aikman's presenter last summer when he was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
"I've got a lot of confidence in the things I can do," Turner said.
The Cowboys didn't offer Turner the job. But he's considered the frontrunner to become the team's seventh coach and the sixth hired by Jerry Jones because of his relationship with the owner.
Jones hasn't offered a timetable for hiring a coach. He's scheduled to fly to Miami on Thursday, sparking speculation that an announcement could come within the next few days.
"I had a chance to get a real good idea what (Jones) is thinking and what he's looking at," Turner said. "I was able to share a lot of my thoughts with him."
Turner is 59-83-1 as a head coach, with stops in Washington and Oakland. Both teams fired him, leading observers to rate him a far better coordinator than coach.
While running the Cowboys' offense from 1991-93, Turner called the plays that led to two Super Bowl titles and helped make stars of Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and receiver Michael Irvin.
If hired again by Jones, Turner would be expected to do the same with Romo.
"My exposure to Tony is just from watching games on TV," Turner told reporters in Irving. "Certainly, he's an exciting player capable of making plays. And really that's a big part of what this game is about, what this league is about. There's not a lot of guys that have that natural, great playmaking ability."
Turner is poised to inherit an offense that averaged the fourth-most points in the league. It's a unit that includes a Pro Bowl tight end (Jason Witten), two 1,000-yard receivers (Terry Glenn, Terrell Owens) and two talented young running backs (Julius Jones, Marion Barber),
There's also a young, up-and-comer on the coaching staff in newly hired Jason Garrett, who spent the past two seasons as the Miami Dolphins' quarterbacks coach and was Aikman's longtime backup.
The Cowboys hired Garrett for an undetermined job after interviewing him for head coach. He's expected to become offensive coordinator if Jones hires Turner.
Turner said he tried to add Garrett to his staff in Oakland.
"That tells you a little something about how I feel about Jason," Turner said.
Turner also might feel comfortable working with Owens after having dealt with other high-maintenance receivers in Irvin and Oakland's Randy Moss.
"I want to coach good players," Turner said. "Being with a new team, there's an evaluation process, and there's a lot of things that go into it. I like the players that are here, and T.O. is one of them."
Turner also has helped several running backs shine. Last season, the 49ers Frank Gore led the league with 1,685 yards.
Turner's visit to the Cowboys headquarters was his first since the Redskins hired him in February 1994.
"It's just a very, very unique place," he said. "When you're away from it some time, you don't realize it. But it certainly hit me at Troy's Hall of Fame induction ceremony — the Cowboys fans, all the people wearing Troy's jersey, just the excitement and energy that's always there with this organization."
posted by The Gryphon at 6:31 PM
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