The 10 Most Underrated NFL Head Coaches Since 2000

6. Norv Turner, Washington/Oakland Raiders/San Diego Chargers

Average nERD: 1.42 (24th)
Average Win Differential: 0.22 (33rd)

Norval Turner has the distinct “honor” of being the only head coach in the post-merger (1970 onward) era of the NFL to be fired while they had a winning record. This occurred with Washington in 2000, as Norv’s team slipped from a 6-2 start to the season to a 7-6 record by the time he was let go. He lasted with the team for seven years total but was shockingly terminated in the middle of a 4.31 nERD season for Washington.

After that, Turner saw an abhorrent stint as the head coach for the Oakland Raiders from 2004 to 2005, which resulted in a -10.48 nERD total for his time there. It turns out that losing 2002 MVP quarterback Rich Gannon to a career-ending neck injury three weeks into one’s tenure doesn’t help with either value creation or winning games.

From 2007 to 2012, however, Turner had found a home with the San Diego Chargers. He inherited stars quarterback Philip Rivers and running back Ladainian Tomlinson, leading the Chargers to the AFC Championship in his first season with the team and then two more playoff berths in the subsequent seasons. His career year was actually an 8.09 nERD season in 2010, despite the Chargers going just 9-7 that year. Turner wasn’t perfect by any means, but he oversaw plenty of highs in Washington and San Diego; without his ill-fated stint in Oakland, he wouldn’t even need to be on this list.