LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The day after they announced they would move from
San Diego to Los Angeles, the Chargers hired Buffalo Bills interim head coach
Anthony Lynn today as their new head coach.
The fallout from owner Dean Spanos’ decision to uproot after 56 seasons
in San Diego continued when longtime sports reporter Jim Gray said on Fox
Sports that San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer should be shot for letting the team
leave, and the team slightly revamped its highly criticized logo.
Multiple reports said the two sides agreed on a four-year contract, but
the team did not announce terms.
Lynn replaces Mike McCoy, who was fired Jan. 1 less than two hours after
the Chargers concluded a 5-11 season with a 37-27 loss to Kansas City.
“This is really a dream come true,” Lynn said. “I want all of our
fans to know that we’re going to start by putting together a great staff and
we’re going to put together a team with the heart and will of a champion.”
Lynn began the 2016 season as the Buffalo Bills assistant head coach-
running backs coach, was promoted to offensive coordinator Sept. 16, one day
after the team got off to a 0-2 start, and became the interim coach on Dec. 27
when Rex Ryan was fired with one game remaining in the season.
The Bills went 7-9, but led the NFL in rushing with 2,630 yards and
yards per carry at 5.3.
Lynn, 48, has been in the league for 17 years, beginning as an offensive
assistant with the Denver Broncos. He was a running backs coach for the
Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets.
Chargers president of football operations John Spanos, one of Dean’s two
sons, called him a leader who will be able to communicate with the players.
Gray made his remarks during an in-studio interview in which he said
Spanos had no choice because the stadium is a “disaster.”
“This mayor in San Diego, he really should be shot,” Gray said. “He
did a terrible job, in terms of football fans, yes.”
He criticized Faulconer for failing to support Measure C until the last
three weeks. The measure, which would have raised hotel room taxes to partially
fund construction of a downtown stadium, failed to gain the necessary two-
thirds of the vote in the November general election.
About one minute later, he took it back.
“Saying somebody should be shot is wrong,” Gray said. “That’s a bad
phrase to use for that mayor. I meant that he should take the blame.”
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Chargers kept the italicized LA print that was widely mocked on
Twitter Thursday, but made the letters yellow set against a sky blue
background. The resemblance to UCLA’s colors were quickly noted on social
media.
At a news conference ahead of Saturday’s contest against Utah State, San
Diego State basketball coach Steve Fisher said he was disappointed by the
news of the Chargers leaving, saying the professional football franchise
brought excitement to the city. He added that San Diego’s strengths will limit
any detrimental impact.
“People save and save and save to vacation here, and that will not
change,” Fisher said.
“Having a pro football franchise, I think it brings a little prestige
to a community, but we’re atypical of a normal community,” Fisher said. “This
area is what you say `if only I could live there.’ ”
San Diego is one of the few cities in the U.S. with such distinction, he
said.
Not having the Chargers in town will mean that more focus will be placed
on San Diego State athletics, especially the football team, according to
Fisher.
See an interview with Chargers’ new head coach Anthony Lynn here: http://www.chargers.com/video/2017/01/13/exclusive-first-interview-head-coach-anthony-lynn