Turner goes from blooper to near Super

But the Chargers coach still has one massive mountain to scale.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — He’s not the Norv Turner of the 1990s.

Definitely not the Norv of those two dreadful years in Oakland.

Finally, Norval Eugene Turner has gone from a guy who couldn’t get his teams into the playoffs to being one step from the Super Bowl.

Granted, it’s going to be one gnarly, enormous step his banged up, underdog San Diego Chargers will have to take in today’s AFC championship game to get past the record-setting New England Patriots and their quest to go 19-0.

But he’s here, having taken the Chargers at least as far as only two other coaches have in the Super Bowl era, Don Coryell and Bobby Ross.

Plus, he’s doing some un-Norvlike things.

He did a quick salsa on the sideline in the closing minute of San Diego’s wild-card win over Tennessee, mimicking Luis Castillo’s sack dance. He was animated on the sideline during Sunday’s upset of the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts, loudly complaining about questionable calls.

He’s gone from being Nervous Norv at news conferences to Funny Norv.

So much has changed since the Chargers were 1-3 — a shocking start during which they were overpowered 38-14 by the Patriots. Turner was considered Public Enemy No. 1.

They turned it around by winning 12 of 14, including eight straight.

“I hope it’s focus, but we’ve got into a rhythm where we’re preparing well, our guys are working and we’re playing with confidence,” Turner said. “So you have to go in with confidence.”

They also go in with some serious injuries. Quarterback Philip Rivers is doubtful with a sprained right knee and Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates is still limited by a dislocated left big toe.

Two-time NFL rushing champion LaDainain Tomlinson expects to play after missing much of the Colts game with a hyperextended left knee.

“There’s a lot of concern because we’re not as healthy as I’d like to be,” Turner said. “It’s a great opportunity for us, and I hope we can be at our best because obviously to be competitive in this game and have a chance to win, we’re going to have to be at our best.”

If Rivers can’t go, the Chargers (13-5) will ask Billy Volek to do what no other QB has done this year: beat the Patriots (17-0). While Volek scored the winning touchdown at Indy in relief of Rivers, he’s made only 10 career starts.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the NFL MVP, is 13-2 in the postseason alone, including three Super Bowl victories.

The Patriots don’t expect much of a difference whether it’s Rivers or Volek.

“You’re not looking at Tom Brady and Vince Young different,” linebacker Mike Vrabel said. “More similar than dissimilar.”

Until the late-season surge, Turner seemed to be a perfect example of a great coordinator who couldn’t handle the tasks of being a head coach. He was the offensive coordinator with Dallas for two of its Super Bowl wins in the 1990s before embarking on what until now was an unremarkable head coaching career.

Turner was 58-82-1 with Washington and Oakland. He was fired by Redskins owner Dan Snyder with three games left in the 2000 season after getting Washington to the playoffs just once, going 1-1.

His two-season run under Al Davis in Oakland ended in a 9-23 mess.

“I think it has to feel good, you know, just because of the simple fact that I think he’s always known that he can be a good head coach, a successful head coach, if he had some talent to work with,” Tomlinson said.