No matter where the games are, Lynn vows Chargers will be winners

Tuesday morning at the StubHub Center crawled quietly.

Its 27,000 seats were empty, save for a smattering of NFL scouts and agents present for a college all-star practice. There was no music, no tangible atmosphere. On the concourse, there sat an empty stage on which the Chargers were set to introduce their next head coach. Quiet. Serene. Then, a stout 6-foot-3 former NFL running back boomed a voice that, for one morning, captured the ripple the Chargers hope to create this fall in Los Angeles.

“We don’t care where we’ll play,” Lynn said. “We’ll play out here on the asphalt; we don’t care. That’s what we do. We coach football, and we play football.”

Lynn made his first public

appearance since the Chargers hired him last week, displaying what several in the organization have characterized as a “presence” about him. He spoke of the opportunity that awaits and the chance to win this season. But plenty of work comes first, beginning with the completion of his coaching staff.

One thing was certain Tuesday. Lynn did not lack for excitement.

“I think we have the opportunity to start fast,” Lynn, 48, said. “This is not a rebuilding project. This is not a two-year transition. This is long-term, baby. We have a very talented roster. I like the cornerstone pieces we have and can build a championship program around.

“We’re looking forward to showing you guys how fun it’s going to watch this football team, how this football team is going to be physical, how this football team is going to play disciplined, not turn the ball over and win football games and not lose [them]. I can’t wait to get started.”

He’ll start by hiring coaches.

The Chargers are in continued talks with former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Gus Bradley to become defensive coordinator, the team looking to replace John Pagano in the role. There is hope to hire Bradley this week, although the team has other candidates prepared should Bradley choose another direction.

Lynn will retain Ken Whisenhunt as offensive coordinator and already has identified Pat Meyer as his offensive line coach. Lynn and Meyer worked together in Buffalo, so they share an understanding of certain blocking concepts the new head coach looks to apply. Interviews for other positions are expected to continue this month at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

Of the six NFL head coach vacancies this off-season, Lynn said he “thought this was the best out there.”

His candidacy was a late development.

The Chargers gathered intelligence that Lynn would be promoted from Bills offensive coordinator and interim coach to Buffalo’s fulltime coach a day or two after the 2016 season. “And that was from really good sources,” General Manager Tom Telesco said.

But a few days passed, and Lynn was still available.

By then, the Chargers already planned other interviews, so he became the sixth and final candidate with whom they met.

The interview lasted six hours in San Diego after which John Spanos, the president of football operations, said that he knew the team had found its next coach.

“I know one of the things that jumped out to me was his leadership,” said Spanos, who owns final call on the hire. “We talked a lot about what that means to really be a great leader; what traits do you need? I think it’s having the ability to communicate and really connect with all the players on the team. I know Coach Lynn can do that. He’s been a former player himself. … He’s won two Super Bowls. He knows what it takes.”

Chargers running back Danny Woodhead supported that notion.

As a player, Lynn spent six seasons with the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers in the ’90s, working mainly as a reserve. As a coach, he spent 13-plus years as a running backs coach, including a 2008 and 2009 overlap with Woodhead with the New York Jets.

“I thought he was a really good leader of the room,” Woodhead said. “We had some guys in there, too — Thomas Jones, Tony Richardson, Leon Washington — guys who were proven names, and he still led the room really well. … I think the guys respected him. I respected him. He was just someone you could trust, and I think that goes a long way.”