Head Coach Ranking

Does QB Justin Herbert’s Development Save Anthony Lynn’s Job

By HCR Staff | December 18, 2020

Let’s get this out of the way fast:  It is not in doubt that Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn has difficulty managing games.  His record in one-score games is abysmal, and no one knows if he can get better.

On the flip side of the coin, however, is his development of rookie quarterback Justin Herbert. Herbert is having a historic rookie season, and it’s happening on Lynn’s watch.  

The quandary for Chargers’ owner Dean Spanos is that if he fires Lynn and his staff, Herbert will have to start over with a new coach, and potentially a new system.  Given that 2021 OTAs may also be in jeopardy for every NFL team, this isn’t ideal.

Herbert is a tremendously exciting prospect, and it can be argued that to a significant degree, he’s as physically gifted as Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, so he’s got to be handled with great care.

The mojo Herbert has with Lynn and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen is working – that much is clear.  But Lynn doesn’t necessarily work with the rest of the team. 

So what should Spanos do?  Eliminate the current mojo and assume it can be replicated with a new staff?  Can it be that easy?

Or should he keep Lynn, but force Lynn to bring an assistant head coach aboard that helps Lynn get better as a game manager?

Even though they’re 5-9, the Chargers still have a lot of talent on this squad.  From that standpoint, they’re not far away.  The only issue has been game management (and special teams).

This call may be tougher for Spanos than it looks.  Lynn is very likeable, and his players always have played hard for him.  If he finishes with a four-game winning streak, we think it’s likely he’s back in 2021.

The Chargers Were Lynn-It To Win It Until Lynn Got Conservative

By Juan Lozano | September 23, 2020

In his second year (2018) as head coach, Anthony Lynn led the Chargers to the playoffs. 

Late in that 2018 season, in a Thursday night road game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Lynn took a gamble when the Chargers overcame a two- score deficit.

The Chargers were down 28-27 after Philip Rivers connected with Mike Williams on a touchdown with four seconds remaining. 

Rather than tie the game with a PAT, Lynn took a risk and attempted a two-point conversion.

Rivers would again find Williams, this time for the two-point conversion to take the lead, win the game and punch the Chargers ticket to the post-season.

On Sunday against those same Chiefs in Los Angeles, Lynn played it close and it might have cost the Chargers a win. 

The Chargers surprisingly held the lead for most of the game. A late Chiefs rally sent the game to overtime.

The Chargers won the coin toss and took the ball. Facing fourth-and-one, on their own 34- yard-line, the Chargers elected to punt and play defense rather than attempt a conversion.

We aren’t sure why Lynn decided to go conservative here considering his previous actions against the same Chiefs- and he’s been known to take chances in other games as well. Our best guess is that he had a rookie quarterback in an emergency start or that the Chiefs had stopped the Chargers run game at the goal line late in the game. 

We thought the right call here was to attempt the fourth-down conversion. The Chargers could have: (1) had Justin Herbert attempt a sneak from under center- after all he’s 6’6, (2) handed the ball off to running backs Austin Ekeler or Josh Kelley- both that are capable of getting a hard yard OR (3) attempted a play-action pass.

A successful attempt, even if the drive ended without a score, would have taken time off the clock if the Chargers were to later punt, and force the Chiefs to rush their offense, one that struggled against a stout Chargers defense for most of the day.

Lynn gave Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and that explosive Kansas City offense an opportunity to win the game.  They did just that when Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker drilled a 58-yard field goal to seal the Chargers fate.  We understand why Lynn punted. His defense was playing well. At HCR, we just think he gave his team a better opportunity to win the game if he attempted a fourth down conversion. Against the Chiefs, you have to coach a little different, and occasionally take a few more risks, something Lynn did back in 2018.

Opinions expressed are solely of the author and do not express the views or opinions of Headcoachranking.com.

Los Angeles Chargers Head Coach Anthony Lynn is Nearing the Hot Seat Designation

By HCR Staff | Jan. 27, 2020

Every NFL head coach is just inches away from the proverbial hot seat designation, that just comes with the job.

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn was highly successful just two seasons ago, when his squad made it into a divisional playoff game at New England. The 2019 season, however, brought a plethora of one-score losses and an avalanche of turnovers and a mid-season offensive coordinator change.

Penthouse to outhouse–quickly.

Now, Lynn is nearing a hot seat. Frankly, we think he’s a solid and improving head coach, although his game management skills need to keep sharpening (but we could say that about virtually all of the head coaches, minus a small handful).

There are emerging circumstances, however, that are beyond Lynn’s control that make Lynn’s seat warmer.

First, there’s the roster. It’s talented, but it also has a lot of unrestricted and restricted free agents, led by quarterback Philip Rivers. Then there’s Melvin Gordon. And talented and ascending tight end Hunter Henry. Add in key third down back Austin Ekeler, and one can see that Lynn is on some shaky ground personnel-wise.

Second, the Chargers are largely irrelevant in their home market, Los Angeles. Locals rank the pro teams in an order similar to this: Lakers, Dodgers, USC football, Rams…then the rest, including the LA Galaxy and LAFC, Kings, Clippers, UCLA basketball, Angels…then the Chargers.

In short, they have no home field and no home crowd.

And the only way to gain relevancy is to have stars, and is Lynn enough of a star for the locals to pay attention? Probably not at the moment.

Lynn’s not in an enviable position, and he also has an ownership that doesn’t have an outside revenue source. The Spanos family doesn’t have the resources of a Jerry Jones or Stan Kroenke.

The only way for Lynn to gain lasting traction is to win, and to win big. Right now, we don’t see a clear path. There are a lot of unanswered questions, and Lynn also doesn’t have personnel authority.

These are hot seat circumstances, and Lynn’s in it.

The 5 Best Calls of 2018

By HCR Staff | Feb. 14, 2019

Throughout the 2018 season, Head Coach Ranking highlighted key coaching decisions in our weekly game posts – some good, some bad. Now it’s time to share our favorite and least favorite calls of the year. And since today is Valentine’s Day, we’ll start with the plays we loved…

1. Chargers go for the win
In Week 15, the Los Angeles Chargers were down 28-21 late in Kansas City. They scored a touchdown with seconds left and head coach Anthony Lynn opted to go for two and the win rather than kick an extra point that would force overtime. Philip Rivers hit a wide-open Mike Williams in the flat for the win, 29-28.

We thought this was a smart move for two reasons: 1) the Chargers had Kansas City’s defense reeling at the time; and 2) with the Chiefs’ quick-strike offense, why give Patrick Mahomes a chance to touch the football again?

2. Saints’ fake
With all the controversy in the NFC Championship Game, some fans might forget how close the New Orleans Saints were to not even being in that game. In the divisional playoff game a week earlier, the Philadelphia Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the Superdome. The Saints faced a fourth-and-1 at their own 30-yard line with 11:54 left in the first half. Thomas Morstead came in to punt, but backup quarterback Taysom Hill, who was in to protect, took a direct snap and drove straight ahead for the first down. The drive ended with a Drew Brees TD pass on fourth-and-goal for the Saints’ first points of the game, on the way to a 20-14 victory.

It wasn’t the first fake punt of the season for New Orleans, and it certainly wasn’t the first time they creatively used Hill (you’ll see him again on this list, in fact).

3. Sneaky Rams
The Los Angeles Rams faced a crucial fourth down on their side of the field late in their Week 5 game against the Seattle Seahawks. With 1:39 left to play and nursing a 33-31 lead, the Rams had fourth-and-1 at their own 42. Head coach Sean McVay sent out the punting unit. Seattle called timeout.

This gave the Rams time to reconsider the decision to punt, and the offensive unit came back on the field. Jared Goff plunged forward on a quarterback sneak and got the first down and sealed the game for the Rams.

4. Thrill Hill
As previously mentioned, Saints head coach Sean Payton was never afraid to take the ball out of the hands of his Hall of Fame quarterback and give it to versatile backup Taysom Hill in critical situations. In Week 9 against the Rams, less than four minutes into a scoreless game, the Saints faced a fourth-and-1 at the Rams’ 37. On this play, Hill lined up in the slot. Brees took the snap, lateraled to Hill and then went out to the left flat. The plan was for Hill to pass it to Brees, but he wasn’t open. So Hill tucked the ball away and scrambled nine yards for the first down. The Saints would eventually score on the drive.

This call was representative of Payton’s creative use of Hill throughout the season. Hill made plays as a runner, passer and receiver. And opponents were forced to take the time to prepare for him each week.

5. Bears’ confidence boost
By Week 3, the Bears had not yet emerged as the serious NFC contender they were to become. In fact, they were just 1-1, and trailing the Cardinals 14-3, midway through the second quarter in Arizona. They faced a fourth-and-1 at the Cardinals’ 19. With the offense struggling, it made sense to kick a field goal here and make it a one-score game. Instead, rookie head coach Matt Nagy gave his offense a vote of confidence and kept them on the field.

Mitch Trubisky hit Allen Robinson on a short pass to get the first down, and the drive resulted in a touchdown. The Bears went on to win, 16-14, on their way to an NFC North crown.

Chargers Win a Sloppy Contest and Advance to New England

By HCR Staff | Jan. 6, 2019

A win is a win, no matter how you get it. So after a sloppy win against the Ravens in Baltimore, the Los Angeles Chargers have advanced to play the New England Patriots in a divisional round matchup next Sunday in New England.

The Chargers’ 23-17 win was not a pretty contest. Notwithstanding that, to go cross-country and play an early-morning game on Pacific time against a physical opponent, any kind of victory is impressive.

As fans, we should have seen this kind of game coming, because these two teams played a similar game during the regular season.

The Ravens put the ball on the ground three times early in the game, losing one fumble, and quarterback Lamar Jackson chipped in an interception as well. Even with all this good fortune, the Chargers repeatedly failed to seize control of the game.

It’s not because the Chargers don’t have weapons. But clearly, the Chargers offense does not match up well with the Ravens defense. The Chargers struggled to move the ball all day but relied on four field goals by kicker Michael Badgley to take an early 12-0 lead, a lead that they would never relinquish.

Ravens quarterback Jackson had a difficult time the entire game, but came alive late in the fourth quarter. Trailing 23-3, he nearly brought the Ravens all the way back, and had to make Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn sweat things until the end.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Ravens had minus-2 yards passing and threatened to be the first team in NFL history to end a game with negative yards passing. If the Ravens intend to enter the 2019 season with Jackson as their quarterback, they clearly have to continue to refine him as a passer.

We anticipate the Chargers will perform much better at New England next Sunday. They have the weapons to keep the Patriots guessing on defense, and their defense matches up favorably with New England’s skill players. The biggest concern will be another cross-country trip, as well as an early Pacific time kickoff for the game. Both teams will have a lot of work to do this week in preparation as they did not play each other during the regular season.

Finally, with the Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs game being played on Saturday, and if the Colts should win that game, both the Chargers and Patriots will know the victor will host the AFC Championship Game.