The Los Angeles Chargers were blown out by the New England Patriots 45-0 on Sunday afternoon. With the defeat, LA falls to 3-9 on the year and finds itself in the AFC West basement – behind even the woefully inept Denver Broncos.
According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, head coach Anthony Lynn is now officially on the hot seat. At this point, it is clear that his firing is inevitable.
“There have been struggles the last two seasons, with several in-game situations not meeting his usual standard and four losses by three points or fewer,” he wrote.
“It hasn’t worked. It’s fair to say his status is in doubt.”
Anyone trying to understand how Lynn, a coach that went 21-11 in his first two years in the midst of relocation and won a road playoff game, is suddenly on the hot seat, needs to look no further than these three graphics.
The Patriots lined up to punt 5 times in this game. The #Chargers had the wrong number of players on the field for 3 of those plays. On one series, they lined for a punt with 12, got flagged and gave up the first down, then lined up with 10 four snaps later. pic.twitter.com/DOum0vObiZ
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) December 7, 2020
“The Patriots lined up to punt 5 times in this game,” Daniel Popper of The Athletic wrote. “The Chargers had the wrong number of players on the field for 3 of those plays. On one series, they lined for a punt with 12, got flagged and gave up the first down, then lined up with 10 four snaps later.”
Those botched set-ups were the second time in two weeks Lynn proved himself incapable of properly managing a game.
Did the Jets purposely throw the Raiders game? The video speaks for itself. https://t.co/2r5JRhK8NT
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 6, 2020
Last Sunday, he inexplicably ran two running plays on the goal line with no timeouts and the clock running out en route to yet another defeat.
At a certain point, no matter how much respect a guy commands within a particular organization for past success and the way he carries himself, facts need to be confronted: Lynn is no longer a good strategic coach.
Alabama went after Coach O hard after the game. https://t.co/SUduHNyY5I
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 6, 2020
“I expect to be the coach of this team tomorrow,” Lynn said of his job status following Sunday’s defeat. “That’s out of my control, my job status. But I talk to [team owner] Dean [Spanos] all the time.
“He’s (Spanos) frustrated as hell, just like I am right now. Very frustrating. When I came here, we felt like the first couple of years we got this thing going in the right direction, and the last couple of years, it just hasn’t been that way, so it is my job to get us back on the right track. And if I’m here, I will.”
Lynn may not get fired this week, but the writing is on the wall. Come next season, he will no longer be the head coach of the Chargers. Will Spanos opt to pull the rip cord before then? Time will tell.
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