The Chargers have a new place to call “home”, and now they have a new coach to lead them when they make it there.
That coach? As first reported by WIVB’s Josh Reed and confirmed by NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, it’ll be former Bills offensive coordinator and interim head coach Anthony Lynn.
Former #Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn is on the verge of becoming #Chargers new head coach, per source
— Josh Reed (@4JoshReed) January 13, 2017
The #Chargers are finalizing a deal with Anthony Lynn, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2017
Lynn, 48, had been with the Bills since he was hired on to coach running backs under Rex Ryan in 2015. He was eventually promoted to offensive coordinator early in the 2016 season before leading the Bills in the final game of the season after the firing of Rex Ryan.
He was considered the prohibitive favorite to land the position on a permanent basis, but lost out on the opportunity to Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. Fortunately for Lynn, his name was one of the hotter names out there in a coaching cycle featuring plenty of first-time candidates, and he had interviewed for almost all of the available head coaching positions. In the end, he’ll be replacing Mike McCoy, who was fired after four seasons at the helm of the Chargers.
After leading an offense with the ultra-mobile Tyrod Taylor at the helm, Lynn goes to a team quarterbacked by 35-year-old Philip Rivers who has run for fewer yards in his 13-year career than Taylor did in 15 games this past season. Dealing with a complete 180 like that would be a pretty big shock, so it’s a wise move for him to keep current offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt in place for the transition. The big problem with the Chargers on the field, though, is hard for a head coach to deal with; the team placed 19 players on IR this past season, including key figures like Keenan Allen, Manti Te’o, and Brandon Flowers.
Lynn’s hire comes on a pivotal day in Charger history, as the team announced this morning that they’ll be leaving San Diego, where they’ve been since the 1961 AFL season, to join the Rams in Los Angeles. Not only will the team be leaving their home for the last 56 years to move to a city that could seemingly not care less about their arrival, but they’ll spend their first two seasons in a stadium meant to hold a professional soccer team with a maximum seating capacity of 30,000 (Qualcomm Stadium holds just north of 70,000).
I know the Bills’ organization has turned itself into something of a joke over the last few weeks, but...wow.
All things considered, Anthony Lynn is walking into what might be the toughest situation a rookie head coach has ever seen. I wish him nothing but the best...he’ll need it.