Anthony Lynn
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Anthony Ray Lynn (born December 21, 1968) is an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
coach and former
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
who is the run game coordinator and running backs coach for the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played running back for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and in the NFL for six seasons, primarily with the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
where he won Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIII. Lynn entered coaching after retiring as a player in 2000, later serving as
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
of the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
from 2017 to 2020.


Playing career

The Lynn played at Celina High School, and later for the Texas Tech Red Raiders (1988–1991), where he was an All-
Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...
running back in 1990. His senior year was cut short by a knee injury, and concerns about the injury left him undrafted. Lynn was a journeyman reserve running back and special teams player during his NFL career, playing for the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
(1993, 1997–1999) and
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
(1995–1996). He retired in 2000 due to repeated neck stinger injuries. Lynn was part of Denver's back-to-back
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
champion teams in 1997 and 1998.


Coaching career


Denver Broncos

Upon retiring in 2000, Lynn joined the Denver coaching staff as an offensive assistant and special teams coach.


Jacksonville Jaguars

Lynn then joined the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
as the running backs coach (2003–2004). He left Jacksonville after being switched to special teams coach following a coaching staff shakeup by head coach Jack Del Rio in 2005.


Dallas Cowboys

After leaving Jacksonville, Lynn quickly joined the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
staff as the running backs coach.


Cleveland Browns

On January 26, 2007, with the retirement of
Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells ( ; born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 19 ...
as Dallas head coach, Lynn signed on with the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
to fill their running backs coach vacancy.


New York Jets

Lynn was named the assistant head coach/running backs coach for the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
on February 1, 2012, under head coach Rex Ryan, and was subsequently interviewed for the head coach job in January 2015, after Ryan left. From 2009 to 2013, with Lynn as running backs coach, the Jets running game produced an NFL-leading 137.0 yards per game. In 2013, Lynn helped Chris Ivory establish a team-leading 833 yards on 182 carries.


Buffalo Bills

When Lynn did not get the position of head coach of the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
, he followed Rex Ryan to the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
where he took the same position of running back coach. The Bills had the top rushing game in the NFL during the 2015–2016 season. On September 16, 2016, Lynn was promoted to assistant head coach and offensive coordinator of the Bills when Greg Roman was fired. When asked what he wants his offensive identity to be, Lynn responded, "I want to play smart, physical football. I want to be explosive down the field... We're going to play a little bit faster and see if we can put a little pressure on the defense. Just execute." Lynn made his debut as
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
against the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
, pulling out a 33–18 win. Lynn was named interim head coach on December 27, 2016, after Rex Ryan was fired.


Head coach interest

On December 30, 2015, the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
interviewed Lynn for their
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
position. He was the fourth head coaching candidate interviewed that week. Lynn also interviewed for the head coaching job with the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
on January 6, 2015, shortly after head coach Rex Ryan was fired. Lynn knew the organization well and was extremely well-respected. In January 2016, Lynn was a head coaching candidate for the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
, but removed his name from consideration before a decision was made. Despite not taking a head coaching position in 2016, media insider Ian Rapoport listed Lynn as one of his candidates in a good position to become a head coach. On January 12, 2017, Lynn was named head coach of the newly christened
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
and one day later the Chargers officially confirmed his hiring as the new coach.


Los Angeles Chargers

On January 12, 2017, Lynn was hired to become the new
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
of the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
, the same day that owner Dean Spanos announced that the Chargers were relocating from
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. Lynn's hire was confirmed by the Chargers one day later on January 13 on the team's website. Lynn became the franchise's first
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
head coach in its 56-year history. In his second season as the Chargers head coach, Lynn led Los Angeles to a 12–4 record, earning its first playoff berth since
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
. The Chargers went on to defeat the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
in the wild card round 23–17, before being eliminated in the divisional round by the eventual Super Bowl LIII champion
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
by a score of 41–28. Lynn would miss the playoffs in
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, finishing last in the AFC West with a 5–11 record. During the subsequent offseason, the Chargers parted ways with
Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football for the ...
, who had been the team's starting quarterback since 2006. In the 2020 NFL draft, the Chargers drafted quarterback
Justin Herbert Justin Patrick Herbert (born March 10, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks football, Orego ...
of Oregon sixth overall, seen as an eventual replacement for Rivers. In
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, the Chargers missed the playoffs and finished third in the
AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...
with a 7–9 record, winning their final four games of the season. On January 4, 2021, Lynn was fired by the Chargers. He finished his Chargers tenure with a 33–31 (.516) regular season record and 1–1 postseason record.


Detroit Lions

On January 23, 2021, Lynn was hired by the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
as their offensive coordinator. On January 10, 2022, Lions head coach Dan Campbell announced the team and Lynn were parting ways.


San Francisco 49ers

On February 4, 2022, Lynn was hired by the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
as their assistant head coach. Lynn gained the additional title of running backs coach when Bobby Turner stepped away to address health issues. Turner returned later to share running back coaching duties. Following the 49ers' loss in the
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NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...
, the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
were granted permission to interview Lynn for their vacancy at offensive coordinator in February 2023. The position ultimately went to Eric Bieniemy; however, the following season the Commanders and Bieniemy parted ways and Lynn was hired for the role of run game coordinator.


Washington Commanders

On February 15, 2024, Lynn was hired by the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
as their run game coordinator and running backs coach under head coach Dan Quinn.


Personal life

Lynn has a son, D'Anton, and a daughter, Danielle, with his ex-wife, Cynda. He married journalist Stacey Bell on March 5, 2011, in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
. His son, D'Anton, played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and was signed as an undrafted rookie by the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
following the 2012 NFL draft. D’Anton was soon released. Lynn was supportive of his son's decision to follow in his footsteps, and taught him about the hard work that goes into being a professional football player both on and off the field. During Cowboys training camp on August 20, 2005, Lynn was a victim of a hit-and-run automobile accident. Lynn and Todd Haley, both offensive assistants for Bill Parcells, were out for pizza after training camp in
Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...
. As Lynn and Haley were crossing the street, Lynn was hit by drunk driver Sergio Sandoval. Lynn suffered two collapsed lungs, facial and shoulder damage, and temporary paralysis in his lower body. He had four surgeries on his face, knee and shoulder due to the incident. Lynn returned to coaching less than two weeks later. Lynn's story was featured in a
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advertisement during Super Bowl LIII in 2019, where he was introduced to the
first responders A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency. First responders typically include law enforcement officers (commonly known as ...
who treated him. On May 12, 2018, Lynn graduated from the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...
with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in interdisciplinary studies.


Head coaching record

* – Interim head coach


References


External links


Washington Commanders profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, Anthony 1968 births 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American coaches of American football American football running backs Buffalo Bills coaches Buffalo Bills head coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Coaches of American football from Texas Dallas Cowboys coaches Denver Broncos coaches Denver Broncos players Detroit Lions coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Living people Los Angeles Chargers head coaches New York Jets coaches NFL offensive coordinators Players of American football from McKinney, Texas San Francisco 49ers coaches San Francisco 49ers players Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Washington Commanders coaches