Anthony Lynn Named Head Coach of Chargers

By ESPN

Like everyone else in Los Angeles, Anthony Lynn still has to get used to his team's new name. A week into the franchise's introduction into a new market, Lynn slipped by saying he was proud to be the new head coach of the San Diego Chargers instead of the newly named Los Angeles Chargers.

"Oops, I meant L.A. Chargers," Lynn said, correcting himself.

The slip was understandable, considering most folks within the Chargers' organization are still getting used to the idea of the team being in the City of Angels.

Chargers director of football operations John Spanos, however, said he believes the franchise got the right man to lead them, saying he was impressed with Lynn during the initial interview.

"You can tell right away he has this authentic leadership to him," said Spanos, who had final decision on the head-coaching hire for the first time in his relatively new role. "He's a no-nonsense guy, and he's real genuine. He's a guy that you can just picture leading this team, and the guys buying in and playing hard for him."

Lynn, the former Buffalo Bills interim head coach, pointed to three NFL coaching heavyweights as major influences in his path to becoming the Chargers' first African-American head coach: Bill Walsh, Mike Shanahan and Bill Parcells.

Like that trio of Super Bowl winners, Lynn said he'll lean on discipline and toughness in transitioning the Chargers from San Diego to Los Angeles.

Lynn said that Walsh identified him as a potential coach during Lynn's NFL career as a running back. Shanahan gave Lynn his first NFL coaching opportunity, as a special teams assistant in Denver. And Lynn worked for Parcells as a running backs coach while with the Dallas Cowboys.

"We're going to be tough, and we're going to be disciplined on the football field," Lynn said. "We're going to play smart, situational football. And we're going to have good, efficient quarterback play."

Lynn said he believed the Chargers' head-coaching position was the best of the six NFL head-coaching vacancies this year, and that having a veteran quarterback in Philip Rivers was part of the job's appeal.

Lynn said he had not finalized his coaching staff, but confirmed that Ken Whisenhunt will stay on as the team's offensive coordinator and that he continues to pursue former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley as his team's defensive coordinator.

Sunday, January 22 Schedule (All Times Central)

NFC Championship

Green Bay at Atlanta, 2:05 p.m.

AFC Championship

Pittsburgh at New England, 5:40 p.m.