Yahoo Finance Chargers fire Anthony Lynn, should have a lot of interested candidates for intriguing opening
The Los Angeles Chargers’ head coaching job will be one of the hottest in the NFL. It’s officially open.
The Chargers fired Anthony Lynn after his fourth season with the team. L.A. won four in a row to finish the season, but a 7-9 record was Lynn’s second straight losing season. That might be enough to save some coaches, but the Chargers have a good amount of talent and way too many baffling losses in Lynn’s tenure.
Lynn was 33-31 in four seasons, but 12-20 over the past two.
Statement from Dean Spanos pic.twitter.com/aR8z0OqnEG
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) January 4, 2021
The good news is the Chargers shouldn’t have trouble finding a good candidate to take the job.
Chargers’ season hits low point in blowout loss
The low point for the Chargers came in a 45-0 loss to the New England Patriots on Dec. 6 . They were outplayed and thoroughly outcoached. That dropped Los Angeles’ record to 3-9. It was bad.
The Chargers have become known for losing close games. They did so again in 2020, letting victories slip away in inexplicable ways. At some point that isn’t a coincidence. There’s a coaching flaw involved.
Lynn looked like a good hire his first two seasons. The Chargers overcame a slow start his first season to finish strong, going 9-7. The next year Los Angeles made the playoffs at 12-4, and beat the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round before being blown out by the Patriots in New England.
Lynn finished 5-11 in his third season and he couldn’t survive another losing year, especially with an exciting rookie quarterback to work with.
Justin Herbert is reason Chargers job is attractive
The Chargers’ job has a lot of positives, starting with rookie quarterback Justin Herbert. The sixth pick of the draft has been fantastic and should continue to develop. His talent and his rookie contract give the Chargers a window to use their salary-cap space to build a nice roster around him.
The Chargers have talent elsewhere, like receiver Keenan Allen and defensive end Joey Bosa. It’s a roster that should not have two straight losing seasons. The Chargers’ job also contains low expectations, considering the franchise has never won a Super Bowl and has one of the smallest fan bases in the league after moving from San Diego to L.A. It’s not like taking a job in a market that is football crazy all year.
The Chargers have underachieved the past couple years with Lynn. That era is over. The Chargers should have plenty of interested candidates to replace him.
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