Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell knew he wanted to get some experience around him on his coaching staff and on Saturday he did that, hiring former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn as the team’s offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
The 52-year-old Lynn had been with the Chargers from 2017-20 with a record of 33-31. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills for one season, in 2016.
He and Campbell have familiarity with each other, too. Lynn was the running backs coach in Dallas in 2005 when Campbell was a tight end with the team.
“What’s more important than anything to me as far as an offensive coordinator is someone that I believe has the vision of the offense kind of the way I do,” Campbell said Thursday. “Just in regard to, ‘Listen, I’m not going to get hung up on what you want to call the terminology. I’m not going to get hung up on the style of system that you want to put in.’
“I’m more into, ‘Man, show me what are the nuts and bolts that you believe in.’ ” One thing Campbell stressed in his introductory press conference is making sure whoever his coordinators are – the team officially announced Aaron Glenn as the defensive coordinator Saturday – can identify and exploit matchup mismatches.
In Buffalo in 2016, Lynn had the best rushing offense in the NFL, averaging 164.4 yards a game and 5.35 yards per carry with LeSean McCoy as his main back. Lynn has also shown a willingness to throw. His Chargers team this past season was sixth in the league in passing yards per game (270.6) with a rookie quarterback, Justin Herbert, behind center the majority of the season and had the No. 6 passing offense in 2019 (276.6 yards per game).
Lynn will likely be working with a new quarterback in 2021, too, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Matthew Stafford has requested a trade from Detroit — the only place he’s played in his career after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2009.