is holding.' Well that wasn't true. . . . I could handle anybody that they'd put in front of me." According to George Halas, Turner was "perhaps the smartest player" he had in 40 years as the Bears' coach, a player who "knew every assignment for every player on every player." Teammate George Musso once said of Turner, "Who knows what kind of player he would have been if he ever got to rest during a game?" Coaching career Assisting coaching During the 1952 NFL season, Turner was both a player for the Bears and an assistant coach responsible for instructing the guards and centers. In January 1953, after retiring as a player, Turner was hired as an assistant line coach at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He had a ranch in nearby Gatesville, and was responsible for coaching the offensive centers and defensive linebackers. He resigned his post at Baylor in February 1954. Turner was an assistant coach for the Bears from 1954 to 1957. He worked from the pressbox and communicated by telephone to George Halas about weaknesses he had observed in opponents' defenses. He gave up his job with the Bears in 1958 to devote his full efforts to his ranch in Texas. New York Titans In December 1961, Turner was hired as the head coach of the New York Titans of the American Football League. Despite a pre-season injury to All-AFL fullback Bill Mathis, whose 846 rushing yards was second best in the 1961 AFL season, the Titans opened the season with a 2–1 record. However, owner Harry Wismer was broke and unable to pay the players, who refused to practice and went on a two-day strike. Wismer threatened to put the entire team on waivers, and his erratic behavior, including hastily placing six starters on waivers after a loss and threatening to sue the Denver Broncos after quarterback Lee Grosscup was injured on a hard tackle, caused the Titans to be described as "the kookiest franchise in professional football." Even with financial assistance from other AFL clubs, the Titans' payroll deficiencies continued, and Turner had to expend energy just enticing his team to suit up. The team drew only 36,161 spectators to seven home games and finished with a 5–9 record. The team was sold in March 1963 and became the New York Jets. Turner was fired that same month. Honors Turner received numerous honors