Temple University Athletics
JIM TURNER NAMED TEMPLE OFFENSIVE LINE COACH
3.11.03 | Football
"I am very excited to add Jim Turner to our coaching staff," said Wallace. "I established three criteria for the hiring prior to the process: successful experience directing an offensive line, an eagerness to become part of the Temple community and a familiarity with the Northeast Region from both a coaching and recruiting standpoint. Jim met these criteria. I was also very impressed with his enlistment into the United States Marine Corps during a very volatile time for the Armed Forces."
Turner, 38, joins the Temple staff after having served as Harvard's offensive line coach and run game coordinator for the past three seasons. The Crimson led the Ivy League in rushing offense in 2000 and 2001 before placing second in the category in 2002. The 2000 squad broke 17 Harvard offensive records behind the rushing of consensus All-American Mike Clare.
Turner came to Harvard after helping direct one of the most potent offenses in Division I-A at Louisiana Tech. He was the Bulldogs' offensive line coach in 1999, when they boasted the nation's top passing offense, averaging 402.1 yards per game through the air. Tech ranked second in the country in total offense (474 yards per game) and eighth in scoring (37.0 ppg) and its offensive line surrendered just 18 sacks in 566 passing attempts (one every 31 attempts).
Prior to his stay in Ruston, La., Turner spent five seasons at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass., coaching under Barry Gallup. He was the Huskies' defensive line and assistant special teams coach in 1997 and 1998, after working with the running backs, tight ends and the offensive line from 1994-96. He took the position at NU following four years (1990-94) as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps.
A 1983 graduate of Braintree (Mass.) High School, where he was an All-Scholastic running back, Turner attended Boston College and first made the Eagles' football squad as a walk-on. He earned a scholarship in 1984, became a two-year starting fullback and was elected captain in 1987. Turner played in the Liberty Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Hall of Fame Bowl and was a blocking back for some of the Eagles' best teams during the Doug Flutie Era. He graduated in 1988 with a degree in sociology.
After his graduation, Turner participated in the New York Giants mini-camp before being named offensive coach at Braintree High School in 1988. In 1989, he was the starting fullback and offensive coordinator for the Kent Rams, a semi-professional team based in London.
