Davis Picks Turner to Coach the Raiders

One year to the day after their Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay, the Oakland Raiders hired Miami Dolphin offensive coordinator Norv Turner as their head coach Monday, hoping to put behind them a 365-day period in which they went from one of the best teams in the NFL to one of the worst.

Turner replaces Bill Callahan, who was fired after the Raiders went 4-12 and performed the biggest belly flop by a Super Bowl team from the previous season. Raider players, including defensive back Charles Woodson, rebelled against Callahan and blamed him for the team’s poor record.

The Raiders were so intent on erasing reminders of the pratfalls of the last season that they violated the NFL’s edict that says no major moves can be announced in the days before the Super Bowl.

Turner filled the last of the NFL’s seven coaching vacancies. He began his NFL coaching career with the Los Angeles Rams in 1985. He also was an offensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers. He was head coach of the Washington Redskins from 1994-2000, compiling a 49-59-1 record with one playoff appearance. He was fired with three games remaining in 2000.

“I just thought it was the right fit,” said Oakland owner Al Davis, who wore a black suit and shirt with a shiny silver tie, the Raiders’ team colors. “Everything that we need at this particular time, we will rely on Norv to help us with.”

The Raiders interviewed six candidates to replace Callahan, although Turner did not get an interview until talks with Dallas assistant Sean Payton ended last week. Payton reportedly was set to take the job but instead stayed in Dallas.

What’s more, Turner persuaded Davis, 74, to abandon his customary choice of a first-time NFL head coach.

Of Davis’ last eight head coaching hires, dating to John Madden’s first season in 1969, only Joe Bugel had been an NFL head coach. Bugel lasted only the 1997 season and was replaced by Jon Gruden after a 4-12 season. Gruden left Oakland to become Tampa Bay’s coach in 2002, leading the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl victory over the Raiders last season.

“I belong here,” said Turner, 51, who grew up an avid Raider fan in nearby Martinez, Calif., during his introductory news conference Monday. “When I got off the plane the other night, I felt like I was coming home. I feel like I’m home now.”

It was a troubled home during the second of Callahan’s two seasons, however. The Raiders suffered injuries to more than a dozen players during the season and, with Woodson leading the way publicly, there was nearly a midseason mutiny against Callahan. Veteran quarterback Rich Gannon, a former NFL most valuable player, also called for a coaching change. Davis listened and fired Callahan on Dec. 31.

“The Raiders need a guy to come in with a plan,” Woodson said during an interview Monday afternoon with ESPN. “You need a guy that the team buys into his program. The guys weren’t buying into what Bill Callahan was trying to do. He separated himself from the team, saying he didn’t have any friends on the team.”

Turner is the 14th coach in Raider history, a list that includes Davis, who coached the team from 1963-65. Turner will benefit from the Raiders’ poor 2003 season because they hold the No. 2 overall pick in the draft and could select a standout quarterback such as Eli Manning of Mississippi or Ben Roethlisberger of Miami of Ohio.

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Coaching Changes

NFL coaching changes from the 2003 season (Wade Phillips was hired as Atlanta’s interim coach on Dec. 10):

*--* Team Old Coach New Coach Date Hired Arizona Cardinals Dave McGinnis Dennis Green Jan. 7 Atlanta Falcons Dan Reeves Jim Mora Jr. Jan. 9 Buffalo Bills Gregg Williams Mike Mularkey Jan. 14 Chicago Bears Dick Jauron Lovie Smith Jan. 14 N.Y. Giants Jim Fassel Tom Coughlin Jan. 6 Oakland Raiders Bill Callahan Norv Turner Jan. 26 Washington Redskins Steve Spurrier Joe Gibbs Jan. 7

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Times wire services contributed to this report.