Thursday continues to see the Chargers franchise make significant long-term moves.
The franchise is finalizing a deal to make Anthony Lynn their next head coach according to NFL Network Ian Rapoport, citing sources. This comes on the same day the team announced that it is moving to Los Angeles, ending a 56-year relationship with the city of San Diego.
The #Chargers are finalizing a deal with Anthony Lynn, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2017
Los Angeles Chargers to Name Anthony Lynn Head Coach
Lynn replaces Mike McCoy, who the Chargers fired immediately after their 37-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs to close out the regular season. McCoy coached the team for four seasons and finished with a career record of 28-38.
Reports also indicate that Ken Whisenhunt is set to take over as offensive coordinator. On the other side of the ball, former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley is expected to be named defensive coordinator.
The 48-year-old Lynn endured a whirlwind season with the Buffalo Bills in 2016. He was named offensive coordinator after a week two loss to the New York Jets when then head coach Rex Ryan fired Greg Roman. He then became Bills interim coach for the final game of the season after Ryan himself was let go in the wake of Buffalo’s overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins in week 16.
Before his promotion to Bills offensive coordinator, Lynn served as running backs coach for the Bills and had been part of Ryan’s staff going back to his days as Jets head coach beginning in 2009. Prior to that, he coached running backs on three separate teams (Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns) dating back to 2003.
His expertise in optimizing the run game speaks for itself. The Bills were the NFL’s best rushing team in both of his seasons on the coaching staff. While running backs coach for the Jets, the team finished no worse than sixth in rushing yards on four separate occasions.
The hope is that Lynn can help revive a stagnant Chargers run game. The team ranked 26th league-wide last season with 1,510 rushing yards. Second-year running back Melvin Gordon was the only player on the team to have a rushing touchdown in 2016, finishing with ten.
