Norv Turner had a good reason for leaving the Vikings so abruptly

We still don’t know the complete details behind Norv Turner’s decision to resign as the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator, but we do have a little clearer picture at least in the weeks since his shocking announcement.

Turner said it was the “hardest decision” he’s ever made. He was also resolved that it had to be done in order to make the Vikings offense work like it needs to work for them to get through the rest of the season and live up to the kind of expectations they set with the Sam Bradford trade and a 5-0 start.

He told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “... it just got to the point where I didn’t think it was going to work with me. So I removed myself.”

Turner and head coach Mike Zimmer disagreed on the best way to run the offense, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB. It wasn’t a huge rift, but they couldn’t come to terms on the margins of it, the details of the offensive system that needed to be changed in order to better protect the quarterback, get the running game going again, and score more than 20 points a game.

“We had a lot of challenges,” Turner told Breer. “And for a period of time, we were able to hide some problems we had, but it catches up to you. And then we just had a difference of opinion—or what I felt was a difference of opinion—on what we needed to do to give our guys the best chance to fix it.”

Turner reiterated that point in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

On the surface, it looks like Turner handled this in a reasonable, sane way. You could make the case that it’s better for the Vikings that he leaves now to than to let the disagreement fester and turn ugly. On the other hand, why couldn’t he just adapt and stick it out through the end of the season?

At the time, Turner said he hadn’t made a decision on whether or not he’d coach again -- he’s only 64. Since then, he’s made it clear that he would like to continue under the right circumstances.

“I just enjoy it too much,” Turner told ESPN. “I really enjoy teaching the players.”

And what are the right circumstances? He wants to coach a team where he has the chance to mold a young quarterback.

Where exactly would that be? Los Angeles invested a ton of draft capital in Jared Goff, and his career’s already off to a slow start. If the Rams opt to keep Jeff Fisher, you have to wonder if he could he bring in Turner and let him run the offense however he wants. Or, if Fisher gets fired, maybe the prospect of Turner as head coach could force the Rams to give him a look.

Or maybe there’s Jacksonville, where Blake Bortles is regressing on the field.

There are also those teams likely be taking quarterbacks in the first round of the draft this year, teams with early picks like the Bears, who’ll be looking for a replacement for Jay Cutler. Turner catching on with a team in that situation will also depend on what happens to the head coach.

Either way, with four or five coaches likely getting fired after the season, Turner will be a name to watch on the coaching carousel.