Advertisement
football Edit

The Right Move

Texas A&M needs a good offensive line coach. Jim Turner needs a second chance.
Texas A&M needs a good offensive line coach. Jim Turner needs a second chance.

Among most of the football community, Jim Turner's reputation is summed up in the words of the Wells report, a document released by the NFL after a public dispute between two of his players, Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito. The words are not flattering: "Turner tolerated and even participated in the harassment of Miami players, lied to investigators and repeatedly attempted to convince Jonathan Martin to publicly defend teammate Richie Incognito."

Those words, along with his firing from the Dolphins, left Turner in the coaching wilderness for a year and hoping for a chance for redemption.

Kevin Sumlin, who chose not to retain Turner as Texas A&M's offensive line coach when he took over in 2012, isn't in a position where he can worry about hurting people's feelings. He needs to win in the SEC West and, in the process, potentially save his job. Sumlin's reputation has taken some hard shots since his stellar debut in 2012, and the disintegration of the offensive line -- a line largely recruited and developed by Turner himself -- has played a factor.

Jim Turner needs a second chance. Kevin Sumlin needs a strong offensive line.

They need each other. On Thursday, Sumlin made the right move and brought Turner back to Aggieland.

Turner is, indeed, loud, profane and excitable. He's also got a track record of success, has proven he can develop talent and mold linemen into capable players at positions where they're needed.

In 2011, Mike Sherman's last year at A&M, the offense was seventh in the nation in total offense, 11th in scoring offense and fourth overall in sacks allowed, giving up just eight over the course of the season. He also assembled one of the best lines the program has ever seen, with Luke Joeckel at left tackle, Jarvis Harrison at left guard, Patrick Lewis at center, Cedric Ogbuehi at right guard and Jake Matthews at right tackle. All five are in the NFL now, and three were first round draft picks.

By the time Sumlin arrived and Johnny Manziel was ready to take control of the offense in 2012, Turner had already developed a very good line for the Heisman Trophy winner to operate behind.

In many respects, this unit was his offensive line. He recruited most of the players, coached them and, in several instances, made them into solid players at positions they had never played before. Joeckel, who arrived for spring practice in 2010, was immediately installed as the starting left tackle and thrown in against Von Miller; by the time the season arrived, Turner had helped make him one of the better tackles in the Big 12. In 2011, Turner took Lewis, who had started each game of the past two seasons at right guard, and moved him to center. After working extensively together, Turner made Lewis into the player that Manziel said he'd give his Heisman vote to. Harrison, a raw talent and 2-star late signee from Navasota, took a redshirt year to develop but took the starting left guard job away from senior Brian Thomas. Ogbuehi underwent a crash course in playing guard and moved into the starting lineup as well.

Four years later, the Aggies are in dire need of that kind of teaching and creativity again. A look at the roster shows potentially talented players who were not developed by either B.J. Anderson or Dave Christensen, but are being counted on to fill huge roles on the 2016 -- some at positions they're not familiar with. Koda Martin, the presumptive right tackle, is still learning the position; Erik McCoy, the likely starting center, had never played the position before the start of his redshirt season last fall. Keaton Sutherland, a tackle in high school, could still be a guard this year. A stickler for technique and discipline is what these guys need. Turner may not have the 2010 class to work with, but it bears mentioning that the recruiting class of Sutherland, McCoy, Connor Lanfear and Trevor Elbert was considered one of the nation's best in 2015.

Turner can also recruit, which is something Christensen did poorly if he did at all. Turner helped land the outstanding 2010 line class, along with the likes of Germain Ifedi and Mike Matthews. He also found and recruited Mike Evans and Ivan Robinson, among others.

Turner has always coached with passion, and you can bet that after a year without a job, he's going to be all the more dedicated to his players and his fellow coaches. While the country remembers the Wells Report, Sumlin will remember the phone calls he got this week from former players like Joeckel, Lewis, Ogbuehi, Matthews and Evan Eike asking him to give their old coach a chance.

He did. And it was the right move.

Advertisement