Just two seasons ago, Anthony Lynn and the Chargers were the talk of the NFL as they went 12-4 before losing to the Patriots in the AFC Divisional game.
Coming off that successful year, the 5-11 finish in 2019 could only be described as disappointing, and a 3-9 start to this season has led to growing frustration in Los Angeles.
Back in late November, after some consistent special teams struggles and some glaring mistakes, Lynn decided to make some staff changes. He reassigned special teams coordinator George Stewart to an analyst role and assistant special teams coach Keith Burns was promoted to the role of special teams coordinator.
However, since making those changes, the Chargers special teams has continued to struggle. Last weekend, in a 45-0 loss to the Patriots, they had a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, a punt returned for a touchdown, had a situation where only 10 men were on the field, and were also penalized for having 12 men on the field at one point.
Yesterday, Lynn announced that he has decided to take over special teams. Lynn also took some responsibility for the performance of the special teams unit, admitting that his decision to shuffle responsibilities may have caused some confusion.
"When you make a change during the season, and then you're in and out of those rooms and in and out of those drills on the field and then on game day, you step back and let some other people run it. It can cause some confusion," Lynn shared via SI.
"I take full responsibility for that, and I'm going to step up, and I'm going to take more of a lead and special teams room for the remainder of the season."
Lynn hasn't been a special teams coordinator at any of his previous coaching stops, and his only experience with a coordinator title came as the interim offensive coordinator under Rex Ryan in Buffalo following the September dismissal of Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Back in 2000, when he first entered the league, Lynn did serve as a special teams assistant with the Broncos.
With that said, having one voice, especially the voice of the head coach concentrated on righting the ship, certainly seems like a good thing.
The Chargers take on interim head coach Raheem Morris and the Falcons on Sunday.
See the full piece from Sports Illustrated here.
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