Norv Turner quit the Vikings because he thought he was ‘holding them back`

The Vikings offense was in the middle of a meltdown. Two games, two losses. On Wednesday afternoon, offensive coordinator Norv Turner had had enough. He quit. Now, we finally have a little more insight into that shocking decision.

Turner told Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network that he left because he believed that he was “holding [the Vikings offense] back from things all getting on the same page. I don’t want anyone to think I was bailing. It just wasn’t working.”

He went on to say that there was no split between himself and head coach Mike Zimmer. If fact, Turner’s decision caught his boss by surprise. Same with Sam Bradford, who found when his wife sent him a text after getting a new alert on her phone.

The Vikings offense has been plagued with injuries, from Teddy Bridgewater to Adrian Peterson and both starting offensive tackles. Turner didn’t feel like he could make the necessary adjustments to string together a competent unit to slug its way through the rest of the season.

And here’s where we STILL don’t have a good answer about Turner’s decision. He said he tried other things, but it “just didn’t work.” Quitting in the middle of the season because your adjustments don’t work thanks to a wave of injuries is a bad look.

Pat Shurmur takes over the Vikings offense. He and Bradford have a long history together, and many think that will make adaptation easier. But with the rash of injuries, there’s only so much the Vikings can do. Nobody expects big changes just because Turner left.

Which makes Turner’s decision to quit all the more irrational. The offense couldn’t adapt with Shurmur already on staff? He couldn’t change his playbook to fit what they needed with an offensive line incapable of blocking for more than a second or two?

Turner, 64, says he hasn’t made a decision whether he’ll coach after this year or not. His health isn’t an issue. However, if a team did want to hire him, his decision to quit the Vikings in the middle of the season because he didn’t feel like he could make it work, should give a team pause before making him an offer.