LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The Las Vegas Raiders have Scott Turner as their interim offensive coordinator.
The son of Norv Turner, Scott's impact with the Silver and Black was noticeable right away in the Raiders' contest with the Miami Dolphins. He spoke on Thursday about the Denver Broncos, and we have the video in it's entirety right here:
Below is a partial transcript of Turner's availability last week:
Coach Turner: “Hey, before you get started with questions, I just wanted to say something if you don’t mind. The sports/football world, and the Las Vegas community specifically, lost someone this past week in Coach John Robinson. So, just wanted to acknowledge him. He was my college coach, had a big impact on my life both professionally and personally. And then my dad [Norv Turner], who just joined the staff, obviously you guys know that, he played for him [Coach Robinson] at Oregon, he coached for him, and that’s how my dad met my mom, when she was his secretary at USC. So, obviously, a big, big part of our family, a tough loss, and it’s a tough loss for everybody in the football community. A legendary coach, College Football Hall of Fame. So, just wanted to acknowledge that before we got started here. Thank you.”
Q: You mentioned Norv Turner coming into the building, what kind of role do you see for him moving forward with you as the interim offensive coordinator?
Coach Turner: “He has such a wealth of knowledge. We were joking about it and I was telling the guys that he was calling offensive plays in the NFL from 1991 to 2019, and he only missed one year. He missed 2017. So, you have somebody that has done that. He had the number one offenses in three different decades. And he’s my dad, so we like being around each other. We lost some coaches on offense, so just another set of eyes. He knows how I see football because I learned most of it from him. So, being able to have him at practice every day, not just watching the games from afar or whatever, and helping just with input is invaluable. And then, for a personal note, obviously it's good to have him around. And my kids are fired up to have their grandfather around."
Q: What's the first step with that? Is that, 'Here's our tapes, can you take a look at this?'
Coach Turner: "Yeah, I mean, he watches football constantly. He knows what we've done on offense. Obviously, the verbiage is totally foreign to him, but I just translate it. He just says what he thinks. And I know, 'Oh yeah, we call them this and whatever.' So, it's really not that hard. And then just fundamentals, tidbits for the quarterback. He's sitting in a lot of the quarterback meetings, just stuff that you don't even think of. Again, I can only see so much. We have a great coaching staff. Those guys are doing a great job too, but just another set of eyes with the wealth of experience that he has. Also, he's not afraid to tell me what he really thinks, obviously, so that part of it is great as well."
Q: What have you seen with the run game this year and how do you try and fix it?
Coach Turner: "We've had some issues, obviously. We know we're not doing a great job right now of running the football. Trying to just make sure that the communication is great up front, so number one, we know who we're getting to. Coach [Joe] Philbin, he's going to do a great job, even in practice yesterday. Just really focusing on the fundamentals of hat placement, understanding what we're trying to get out of every run. Hopefully we can stay a little healthier and have some continuity, which will help us get going up front. And then the backs, just being decisive, don't worry about making a mistake or putting the ball in the wrong place, just go hit it and run and get your pads going forward. And then we got to get first downs, like you got to get first downs, whether it's in the run or pass, to give yourself more attempts to run the football, because that's where we're lacking too. We're lacking at attempts. We haven't had great efficiency, but we're also low at attempts as well."
