Chargers fire Lynn after 4 seasons
A four-game winning streak at the end of the season wasn’t enough to save Anthony Lynn’s job with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Owner Dean Spanos on Monday fired Lynn after four seasons. Lynn led the franchise to the playoffs in 2018 but Los Angeles had losing records the last two seasons.
“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,” Spanos said in a statement. “As we all know, this is a resultsdriven business and, simply put, the results of the past two years have fallen short of expectations.”
The Chargers were 3-9 after a 45-0 loss to the New England Patriots on Dec. 6, the worst loss in franchise history. They bounced back strongly by going unbeaten the rest of the way, including a 38-21 victory over Kansas City on Sunday, though the Chiefs sat out many key players.
Quarterback Justin Herbert, a strong contender for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, said he found out in a text message from teammates that Lynn was dismissed. Other players said they found out via social media.
Herbert set a rookie record with 31 touchdown passes in 15 starts and said he learned a lot from Lynn.
Hired by the Chargers in January 2017, Lynn was the first Black head coach in franchise history and had one year remaining on his contract. He had a 3331 regular-season mark.
Marrone out in Jacksonville
Shad Khan has hired coaches and general managers before. He relied on a search firm the first time. He enlisted help from a consultant the second. He listened to friends, family, colleagues and even competitors along the way.
Now, after nine NFL seasons and little success on the field, the Jacksonville Jaguars owner is taking a more hands-on approach to fixing the franchise’s most glaring problems.
Khan is handling the search for his next coach and general manager mostly alone, with some help from Jaguars President Mark Lamping.
“This time around, I think I have a much better sense myself,” Khan said Monday after firing coach Doug Marrone. “I’m the key decision maker.”
Khan also made it clear finding a franchise quarterback — hello, Trevor Lawrence — is as important as hiring the right people to those key positions.
Khan fired Marrone a little more than 12 hours after ending the season with a 15th consecutive loss. It was a move many thought he should have made a year earlier. But Khan gave Marrone another chance to make Jacksonville a playoff contender again.
Marrone went 25-44 in four-plus seasons in Jacksonville, including 2-1 in the postseason. The Jaguars just missed the franchise’s first Super Bowl in 2017 and was mired near the bottom of the league since. Marrone lost 21 of his final 24 games, including 15 by double digits.