Kevin Acee of the UT San Diego is reporting that San Diego Chargers head coach and general manager A.J. Smith will be fired at the end of the season. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to many people, and Norv has been on the hot seat for quite sometime. The Chargers are a very poor 4-8 this year and have lost four straight games. I have to agree with the decision if it is as reported, the Chargers need a change and it should start at the top.
It will be interesting to see if the Chargers can somehow save Norv’s job over the next two weeks with their play on the field. NFL Football Betting has the Chargers as 7 point underdogs against the Steelers this weekend, and that may change given the latest coaching change rumors. Something tells me that nothing can save Norv and A.J. though.
Sources said this week that Chargers President Dean Spanos essentially decided at least a month ago that Turner’s time was drawing to a rapid close. Spanos, sources said, has more recently resigned himself to the fact that Smith can’t be kept in the current environment of plummeting performance and fan unrest.
Spanos is waiting until after the season, more because that is his preferred time to make such moves than due to any faith in the Chargers’ microscopic playoff chances.
It is not known who will take over for Turner, but current Director of Player Personnel Jimmy Raye is the apparent replacement for Smith. Raye, who has been with the Chargers for 17 seasons, will ascend to a job much like Smith’s but with his new right-hand man being the owner’s son, John Spanos.
