Report: Chargers to fire A.J. Smith, Norv Turner after the season

Brian McIntyre

December 6, 2012 at 6:02 p.m.

The San Diego Chargers will fire both head coach Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith at the end of the 2012 regular season, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Smith has been with the club since the 2002 season. During that time, the Chargers are 100-72 in the regular season and 3-5 in the playoffs. Turner replaced Marty Schottenheimer as head coach in 2007 and has guided the franchise to a 53-39 mark in the regular season and a 3-3 mark in the postseason, taking the team to the AFC championship game in 2007, his first season with the team. The Chargers are currently 4-8 and will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

Chargers president Dean Spanos has issued a statement regarding the report.

"There is only one person in this organization who will make those decisions and that's me, and I haven't shared my thoughts with anyone," said Spanos. "I will make my evaluations at the end of the season. Anything coming out now — from sources or otherwise — is pure speculation."

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Contract statuses of head coach and general managers are usually kept under wraps, but Acee reports that Smith has two seasons and $4 million remaining on his current deal, while Turner is owed $3 million for the one year that remains on his current contract.

Acee goes on to report that Smith's replacement appears to already be in the building.

When Smith is fired, director of player personnel Jimmy Raye could ascend to the general manager's position, with current director of college scouting John Spanos, whose father owns the team, becoming his right-hand man. Raye has been with the Chargers since the 1996 season as a scout and director of college scouting, and has been in his current position overseeing the college and pro scouting departments since 2007.

Potential head-coaching candidates for the opening may include Oregon head coach Chip Kelly or Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton, whose defensive system would be a good fit for much of the current defensive personnel assembled by Raye. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and the NFL Network reports that current Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid could target that position once his expected firing takes place at the end of the regular season.

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