Coming off two double-digit losses during which his Vikings offense scored three points in the first three quarters of each game, veteran offensive coordinator Norv Turner surprisingly resigned Wednesday morning.
"I have tremendous respect for Mike Zimmer, our coaching staff and our players, and at this time I think it is in the best interest of the team to step down," Turner said in a statement. "I thank the Wilf family for my time here in Minnesota and want to see our players and coaches achieve success."
Tight ends coach Pat Shurmur will replace Turner as interim offensive coordinator and play-caller. Turner's son, Scott, will remain on staff as quarterbacks coach.
Turner told ESPN that he had a disagreement with Zimmer about the direction of the offense. Zimmer disagreed about there being a disagreement.
"I would say that since Norv has been here, I've given him almost 100 percent, total free will in everything that they've done offensively," Zimmer said. "Obviously, I'll come in and make suggestions, but there really has never been a time I have demanded anything."
The Vikings ranked in the bottom six in total offense in each of Turner's first two seasons. This season, with injuries forcing the Vikings to trade for a new starting quarterback and sign their current left tackle off the street, they currently rank 31st in offensive yards and their 11 offensive touchdowns through seven games are also second-fewest in the NFL.
With Sam Bradford, who was acquired after Teddy Bridgewater suffered a season-ending knee injury, taking over as the starting quarterback in Week 2, the offense produced 79 points in the next four games as the Vikings improved to 5-0 and took control of first place in the NFC North.
But in consecutive losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears after their bye week, the Vikings _ with both of their starting offensive tackles, Matt Kalil and Andre Smith, on injured reserve, along with All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson _ surrendered 11 total sacks in those games.
The Vikings finished with just 258 yards of total offense in Monday night's 20-10 loss to the Bears. Under Turner, they topped 400 yards of total offense only once in their past 27 games, including playoffs. Five other NFL offenses are averaging more than 400 yards in 2016.
But Zimmer insisted he was not planning to change offensive coordinators, saying that he "had no indication" that Turner was planning to resign.
"We're all trying to work together to get better, and obviously, we haven't performed well the last two weeks," the third-year head coach acknowledged.
Turner met with Zimmer at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and informed him of his decision to walk away. Zimmer said Turner, 64, did not mention retirement.
Zimmer was asked if he tried to talk Turner out of resigning.
"We talked for a long time about a lot of things, and I told him my feeling for him and how much that I respect him and things that he has done and he has continued to do and how hard he's trying to get it going," Zimmer said. "He was pretty set in his ideas and his reason."
Turner, who called the plays for two Dallas Cowboys teams that won Super Bowls in the 1990s, was in his third season as offensive coordinator, having joined Zimmer in Minnesota when he was hired as head coach in 2014.
Zimmer, his bottom lip quivering, got choked up near the end of his news conference when talking about his relationship with Turner.
"First of all, I think Norv is a great coach, great teacher, great person," Zimmer said. "(He understood) how we had to play as a team with the people that we had at the time. With the young quarterback, without a running back, the way things were going with injuries. Part of it isn't just about statistics. (It was) about doing what is the best thing for the team."
Players were also surprised by the news that Turner, who was generally well-liked among the players, had resigned from the 5-2 Vikings.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph found out about the news on his way into Winter Park, when he received a couple of text messages after news broke. Quarterback Sam Bradford got a call from his wife. Running back Matt Asiata, still in a towel after a shower, found out when the media approached him in the Vikings locker room.
"I obviously didn't see this coming," Bradford said. "I was in here yesterday talking to him and didn't really think anything was different."
