Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, and former LA Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn has been connected with the USC job, according to recent reports, and was recently given the opportunity to respond to those rumors.
A few days ago now, Jim Trotter shared this tweet noting that USC boosters had reached out to Lynn to gauge his interest in their head coaching job.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press shared earlier today that Lynn was asked about that report, and he provided the standard answer when coaches in-season are asked about other intriguing job opportunities.
Lynn shared that no one from USC has reached out to him, and his entire focus is on the Lions, who have started off 0-3 in his first shot at being an offensive coordinator for a full season.
Lions OC Anthony Lynn said no one from USC has reached out to him about that job and his entire focus right now is on his current role with the Lions. He did not directly answer whether he would consider the job after the season.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) September 30, 2021
Lynn is well regarded in the coaching profession after a stellar career coaching running backs before becoming an assistant head coach with the Jets and Bills. He took over the Chargers organization for four season from 2017-20.
He led the Chargers to 9-win season in his first year before a 12-win campaign in 2018, but went 5-11 and then 7-9 in the years that followed before being let go. He went 33-31 overall in LA, with a 1-1 mark in the playoffs.
Having Lynn as a potential target outside of the first handful of names mentioned for the job makes some sense when you consider his relationships on the west coast as well as the last head coach to have success at USC.
Pete Carroll built USC into one of the modern college football dynasties after going 6-10 as the head coach of the Jets in 1994 and then 27-21 in three seasons leading the Patriots from 1997-99 going 1-2 in the playoffs. Carroll has been frank in recalling that he wasn't the first choice for the job, but the results he got after taking the job and running with it are undeniable.
While Carroll and Lynn have much different styles, on paper, they provide very similar resumes.
It's worth noting that Lynn's entire coaching career has been in the NFL, while Carroll did have stops at Ohio State, Iowa State, Arkansas, and NC State early in his career before climbing the ranks in the NFL.
Birkett notes in his tweet that Lynn did not directly respond to whether he'd be willing to consider the USC job after the Lions season.
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