What a whirlwind for Buffalo Bills’ running backs coach offensive coordinator interim head coach in 2016. He began with the same coaching position that he had held for the majority of the last fifteen years, and ended it by interviewing for nearly every head coaching vacancy in the league. Speculation indicated that Lynn would probably be Buffalo’s head coach, or maybe San Diego’s, but that he would be coaching as the head man somewhere in 2017.
Alas, that speculation seems to be headed in the opposite direction now. According to Ian Rapoport, Lynn is unlikely to be offered a head coaching position for next season. Rapoport thinks that Lynn will instead remain an offensive coordinator.
The question, then, becomes one of location. Will Lynn decide to stay in Buffalo? Will he even be granted the opportunity to stay? If the Bills land Mike McCoy as their offensive coordinator, a logical landing spot for Lynn could be Denver, where he played and won two Super Bowls as Terrell Davis’s backup. However, Denver is also in on McCoy.
Anthony Lynn is under contract with the Buffalo Bills, so the position is, both as a matter of fact and technicality, his. The greater question could be whether Lynn wants to return to his old job when he interviewed for the big chair and was denied. If pride interferes, or if certain members of the locker room feel that Lynn deserved the head coaching job instead of Sean McDermott, it sets the stage for unnecessary contention and distractions.
For the record, I do not believe that Anthony Lynn would be incapable of performing his duties as offensive coordinator after Bills’ management passed on him as the head coach. I do, however, think it sets Buffalo up for a situation where their offensive coordinator is “one and done” with McDermott if Lynn is retained. With all the interviews Lynn has had over the last few years, it’s logical to assume that he will be a head coach someday, and that day may be coming sooner rather than later.
Which offensive coordinator do you prefer, Bills’ fans? McCoy or Lynn...or neither?