5 reasons the Minnesota Vikings can save 2016 season without Norv Turner

1. The Pat Shurmur-Sam Bradford Connection

Prior to becoming the Browns’ head coach, Shurmur was offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams in 2009 and 2010. His final season in that job was also the year Bradford was drafted No. 1 overall, and won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (3,512 passing yards).

Bradford and Shurmur reunited as quarterback and offensive coordinator last season with the Eagles, and Bradford set career-highs in completion percentage (65 percent), passing yards (3,725) and yards per attempt (7.0) over 14 games. Bradford has had the two best seasons of his career with Shurmur as his offensive coordinator, which is not a coincidence.

After making the trade to acquire Bradford from Philadelphia in early September, in the aftermath of Bridgewater’s devastating knee injury, Vikings’ general manager Rick Spielman acknowledged Shurmur as someone who was consulted about the team’s possible new signal caller. That was not too surprising to hear, given the circumstance of looking for a new quarterback less than two weeks before the season opener, but Shurmur’s positive thoughts about working with Bradford can be noted.

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Shurmur knows what Bradford does well (arm strength, quick release, pre-snap recognition, etc.) and what he doesn’t (mobility), perhaps better than any other coach around. Keeping Bradford upright more often has to be the priority, regardless of the offensive line’s shortcomings, and Shurmur taking the reigns of the offense makes that more likely to happen going forward.