Take a deep breath, Anthony Lynn. You lived to see another day. Though it’s debatable whether he should be, the embattled coach is still employed following the Chargers’ embarrassing 45-0 loss to New England in Week 13, a start-to-finish debacle that dropped Los Angeles to a dismal 3-9 on the year.
Despite a treasure trove of offensive talent, namely Rookie of the Year shoo-in Justin Herbert (who is closing in on the NFL record for rookie touchdowns, needing just four more to tie the high-water mark set by Baker Mayfield in 2018), the Bolts are bringing up the rear in the AFC West, a position they’ve occupied in the standings four of the last six seasons. Beyond squandering talents like Herbert, Joey Bosa and Keenan Allen, the Chargers under Lynn have shown an alarming affinity for losing close games, weathering a myriad of fourth-quarter collapses including a devastating 31-30 setback against the Broncos in Week 8.
It’s hard to envision Lynn, whose lone playoff appearance with Los Angeles came in 2018 when the Chargers finished 12-4 before ultimately falling to New England in the Divisional Round, keeping his job beyond this year. With that in mind, an in-season dismissal is equally unlikely, at least in the eyes of NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who insists the front office will let Lynn finish out the year before making a judgement on his Chargers future.
Assuming the Chargers are merely biding their time with Lynn, allowing him to clock in for another month before inevitably kicking him to the curb on Black Monday (the Jets appear to be taking a similar approach with fellow dead-man-walking Adam Gase), Los Angeles should be among the most coveted jobs in this year’s coaching cycle. Eager coaches will be chomping at the bit to work with Herbert, who has cleared the 300-yard passing threshold six times since wrestling the starting reigns away from tried-and-true veteran Tyrod Taylor.
Lynn’s initial reluctance to insert Herbert into the starting lineup is as sure a sign as any the 51-year-old isn’t cut out to be an NFL head coach. Considering the wonders he’s worked with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy would be an ideal choice to oversee Herbert’s development in Los Angeles, assuming the Falcons, Lions, Texans or Jets (you can’t underestimate the allure of presumptive top overall pick Trevor Lawrence) don’t snatch him up first.
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