On Monday, the Los Angeles Chargers parted ways with head coach Anthony Lynn after four years. The Chargers finished 7-9 this year, finishing third in AFC West. Chargers Owner Dean Spanos released a statement on Twitter.
“This morning, I informed Anthony Lynn that we have made the decision to part ways with him as our head coach. I’m not sure there is another person in this league more respected as a human being than Anthony, and I want to sincerely express my deepest gratitude for his leadership during a time of great change for our organization. As we all know, this is a results-driven business and, simply put, the results of the past two years have fallen short of expectations. Moving forward, we will redouble our efforts to both build and maintain a championship-caliber program. We have been innovative in many facets of our organization in recent years, and we need to carry that over to our entire operation. Our fans need to know that the Los Angeles Chargers are committed to consistent, winning football. The search for a new head coach will begin immediately.”
Before getting into coach, Lynn won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos. Lynn worked with Rex Ryan with the Jets and Bills. When Rex was fired from the Bills, Lynn took over the duties. After the season, he interviewed for several teams before the Chargers hired him on January 12th, 2017, after the team moved from San Diego.
In his first season with the Chargers, the team finished 9-7 after starting the year 0-4 and would miss the playoffs. In 2018, the Chargers went 12-4 to tie the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West division and the best record in the AFC. The Chargers beat the Ravens in the Wild Card Game 23-17 before losing to the eventual champions New England Patriots 41-28 in the Divisional Round. Since then, the team finished under .500 for the last two seasons.
Lynn will be sought out for a Defensive Coordinator job. Meanwhile, the Chargers will have put in a request to interview Titans OC Arthur Smith. They will likely interview other candidates from Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy and Bill OC Brian Daboll. Lynn finishes with an overall record of 33-31 with the Chargers.
