"What happens with the Chargers over the next several weeks will almost certainly determine the job status of head coach Norv Turner, and it could even usher in the end of the A.J. Smith era.

With that said, it is interesting to note the financial blow team President Dean Spanos would absorb and also the dynamics of making both those moves.

Dropping Turner and Smith at season's end, moves Spanos was in the process of evaluating even before Sunday's loss to the Chicago Bears, would leave the Chargers on the hook for more than $12 million.

Exact numbers are not known, but sources place Turner's salary at approximately $3 million per year on a contract that runs through 2013. Smith's compensation averages slightly more than $2 million through 2014."