SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Chargers President Dean Spanos has decided to keep coach Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith despite the team missing the playoffs for the second straight season amid increasing fan discontent.
Spanos made his decision Tuesday, two days after the Chargers finished 8-8 by beating Oakland to keep the Raiders out of the playoffs.
Turner is 49-31 in five years in San Diego but only 3-3 in the playoffs. He is 107-113-1 in three stints as a head coach, including with Washington and Oakland. Both of those teams fired him.
San Diego went 4-1 at the beginning and end of the season but was undone by a six-game losing streak in the middle. One more win would have earned the Chargers the AFC West title.
Smith has come under fire for the erosion of talent from a roster that at one time was considered among the NFL’s best.
