Anthony Lynn leaves the Los Angeles Chargers after four seasons, having led the team to the Divisional Round of the playoffs in 2018.
By Cameron Hogwood
The Los Angeles Chargers have announced they have parted ways with head coach Anthony Lynn after four seasons in charge of the team.
Lynn was hired as Mike McCoy’s replacement in 2017 before leading the team to a 9-7 record in his first season, following it up in his second year by taking the 12-4 Chargers to the playoffs where they were eventually beaten by the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round.
Having fallen to 5-11 in 2019 behind an ageing Philip Rivers, the Chargers slumped to another losing season at 7-9 in 2020 despite winning each of their final four games.
In an official team statement, admin-ajax.php Dean Spanos said: “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 organisation.
“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-calibre program. We have been innovative in many facets of our organisation 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.”
Lynn leaves behind one of the most attractive head coach vacancies in the NFL following a record-breaking season from outstanding rookie quarterback Justin Herbert, who surpassed Baker Mayfield for most touchdown passes from a rookie in NFL history.
In Joey Bosa, Casey Hayward, Melvin Ingram and Derwin James, the Chargers also boast some of the top individual talent in the league on defense.
James missed the entire 2020 season due to injury on the back of featuring just five times in 2019, while the Chargers have also had to fare without Ingram, offseason acquisition Chris Harris Jr, center Mike Pouncey and running back Austin Ekeler for significant periods.
The Chargers are now the sixth team looking for a new head coach alongside the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars.
