Bears bring back Turner as coordinator

By Hugo Guzman  |   Thursday, January 20, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Chicago Bears
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Nearly seven weeks after he was fired as head coach at Illinois, Ron Turner returned to the Chicago Bears for a second stint as their offensive coordinator.

Turner had the opportunity to take the same position with the Baltimore Ravens where head coach Brian Billick is a good friend, but said he picked the Bears because it was a better fit professionally and personally.

"I had two very good options. I felt it was the best one for me and my family," he said. Turner signed a three-year deal worth a reported $500,000 per season.

Geography was a factor in his decision.

Turner has four children, including a son who plays at Centennial High in Champaign, and he said the family still is deciding whether to stay put 150 miles away or move back to Chicago.

He replaces Terry Shea, who was fired after only one season. The injury-ravaged Bears went 5-11 and were last in most of the league's offensive categories, including scoring and total yards. They also set franchise records for penalties and sacks allowed.

After he was fired Nov. 22 at Illinois following a 3-8 record that left his total record at 35-57, Turner said he wasn't sure if he wanted to get back into college coaching or take a year off. He had two years left on his contract with the Illini.

"The more I looked at it, I wanted to get back to being a coordinator in the NFL," he said.

Turner was the Bears' offensive coordinator from 1993-96 under Dave Wannstedt. In 1995, the Bears set several team records when its offense ranked ninth in the NFL.
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About Hugo Guzman

Co-founder of RealFootball365.com. Born in Argentina, of Dominican descent, living in Hoboken, but from Miami through and ...
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