Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The San Diego Chargers hired Norv Turner as coach, replacing Marty Schottenheimer, who was fired a week ago after fighting with the team's front office.

Turner, who went 58-82-1 as coach of the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders, was introduced at a news conference today in San Diego, where he was offensive coordinator in 2001.

Terms of the contract weren't disclosed.

Both Turner and owner Dean Spanos said Turner's ability to maintain continuity on a team that had a National Football League-best 14-2 record last season was a factor in his hiring.

``The offensive system that the Chargers run, I installed in 2001,'' Turner said. ``Talking to some of the players upstairs, there's certainly a comfort level and some relief in that manner.''

The 54-year-old Turner was the San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinator last season and was credited with helping quarterback Alex Smith progress.

The new coach will inherit a team that has running back LaDainian Tomlinson, the league's Most Valuable Player, who rushed for an NFL-record 31 touchdowns and a league-high 1,815 yards.

The Chargers lost in the second round of the playoffs to the New England Patriots, 24-21, on a field goal with a minute remaining.

`Dysfunctional'

After that loss in mid-January, Spanos said Schottenheimer would return for the final year of his contract. On Feb. 12, Spanos fired Schottenheimer, saying the coach's bickering with General Manager A.J. Smith and others in management had created ``a dysfunctional situation.''

Spanos, who also interviewed five other assistant coaches who did not have head coaching experience, said his decision to hire Turner was based on ``his ability to maintain continuity within this organization going forward. He was without a doubt the right choice for this job.''

Other coaches interviewed for the position included defensive coordinators Gary Gibbs from New Orleans, Mike Zimmer from Atlanta, Ron Rivera from Chicago and Rex Ryan from Baltimore. The team also interviewed San Francisco assistant head coach Mike Singletary.

Turner named Minnesota Vikings assistant Ted Cottrell as the Chargers' defensive coordinator and said other coaches under contract will remain with the team.

To contact the reporter on this story: Curtis Eichelberger in Washington at ceichelberge@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 19, 2007 17:27 EST