For the first time in over three decades, Norv Turner is not expected to be on an NFL coaching staff when training camps open next month.
Turner, the former Vikings offensive coordinator, has not taken a new coaching position since he surprisingly resigned here last November, after disagreeing with head coach Mike Zimmer over the direction of a Vikings offense that lost its starting QB, running back and both tackles.
At the time, Turner stressed that he had no plans to retire from football. The 65-year-old reiterated last night in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio that he remains open to the possibility of coaching again.
"A lot of that would depend on the opportunity," he said in the interview.
In the meantime, while he waits for the right situation, Turner said he has been invited to drop in at several NFL training camps next month.
He also said he got invites for similar cameos at a few different college programs. One was Michigan, where his son, Scott, the former Vikings quarterbacks coach, is an offensive analyst on Jim Harbaugh's staff.
"I've had a couple [coaches] reach out to me and ask if I could come in for two or three days to just visit and maybe help a little bit or give some opinions," said Norv, who was on Zimmer's staff from 2014-16.
Once the actual games start being played, Turner will be unemployed for the first time since getting his start in coaching at Oregon in 1975.
"I'm looking forward to football season as a fan or spectator," Turner told SiriusXM. "But there will always be that coaching part of it in me."
We'll likely have to wait until 2018 to see if he'll get another chance.