Jaguars’ Marrone, Chargers’ Lynn fired
The first head-coaching dismissal of the NFL offseason that hadn’t been considered a foregone conclusion came Monday when the Los Angeles Chargers fired Anthony Lynn.
The team announced the move with a written statement by owner Dean Spanos.
“This morning I informed Anthony Lynn that we have made the decision to part ways with him as our head coach,” Spanos said. “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.”
The Chargers had a record of 7-9 after finishing the season on a four-game winning streak. There had been speculation for much of the season about Lynn’s job security. But the Chargers’ recently improved on-field results made it less than a certainty that Lynn would be fired. Some observers wondered whether retaining Lynn might provide some continuity for young quarterback Justin Herbert, who threw for 4,336 yards and 31 touchdowns in a superb rookie season.
Lynn’s firing leaves the NFL with only three minority head coaches: the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, the Miami Dolphins’ Brian Flores and the Washington Football Team’s Ron Rivera. The move comes with the league making an attempt to improve its minority-hiring results this offseason.
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John Elway no longer will be the roster architect of the Denver Broncos.
The Hall of Fame quarterback, who assembled the Broncos’ Super Bowl-winning team in the 2015 season as a front office executive, announced Monday that he will hire a general manager for the team and give final say over player-related decisions to that new GM.
Elway said he will remain an executive with the team. The Broncos also are retaining Vic Fangio as their head coach, Elway said.
“Working in this role for the last 10 years and going
back to my playing days, I’ve always tried to do everything I can to help the Broncos win and get better,” Elway said in a written statement. “As part of a transition I’ve thought about for a long time, I have made the decision to step up into an elevated role and hire a general manager to lead our personnel and football staff.
“While I’ll continue to be President of Football Operations in 2021, the GM will have final say on the draft, free agency and our roster. This person will be empowered to make all football decisions, working in partnership with Vic. I will be there to support our GM and Vic, providing my perspective, helping with the big decisions and being a sounding board whenever needed. With all that goes into the day-to-day responsibilities of a GM and how the job has grown, this structure will set us up for success and allow me to focus on the big picture.”
The Broncos went 5-11 this season and missed the playoffs for a fifth straight year. Elway said that Fangio and Joe Ellis, the team president, will assist in the GM search.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars, to no one’s surprise, on Monday fired Doug Marrone as their coach.
The Jaguars made the move official in releasing a morning statement by owner Shad Khan. The dismissal comes on the heels of a
1-15 season that closed with
15 straight losses.
“I am committed and determined to deliver winning football to the City of Jacksonville,” Khan said. “Realizing that goal requires a fresh start throughout our football operations, and
with that in mind I spoke this morning with Doug Marrone to express my gratitude for his hard work over the past four seasons as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I’ll always appreciate Doug’s passion, grit and class, and I’m confident he will enjoy success in the next chapter of his career. As the search for our new general manager continues, now the quest begins to find a head coach who shares my ambition for the Jacksonville Jaguars and our fans, whose loyalty and faith are overdue to be rewarded.”
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The Cincinnati Bengals are retaining Zac Taylor as their coach after a four-win season.
If there was any doubt about that, owner Mike Brown erased it with a statement of support released Monday morning by the team.
“Our fans wanted a fresh new direction two years ago, and that is what we aimed to do in hiring a bright, energetic head coach in Zac Taylor,” Brown said. “We remain bullish on the foundation Zac is building, and we look forward to next year giving our fans the winning results we all want. In Zac’s two years, we have added many new starters and contributors through the draft, we have invested heavily in free agency, and we have acquired a talented young quarterback with a bright future.”
The Bengals seemed to make progress with rookie quarterback Joe Burrow, the top overall selection in last year’s NFL draft. But Burrow suffered a season-ending knee injury in November and now must work his way back. The Bengals finished 4-11-1.