A few years ago, Anthony Lynn was the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, and he had the benefit of many weapons on offense, including an above-average quarterback.
In his first three seasons at the helm, he had a grizzled Philip Rivers under center, and in his last season there, he had a rookie named Justin Herbert.
Lynn was fired following the 2020 season after he had guided the Chargers to the NFL playoffs just once during his time with them.
Today, he is the running backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers, another California team that has great talent on both sides of the ball.
The difference is that, unlike the Chargers, the Niners have put all that talent together and seem poised for a run at the Super Bowl.
In a recent Los Angeles Times article, Lynn, who played for the 49ers in the mid-1990s, complimented his current franchise, and in doing so, he seemed to make a veiled criticism of the Chargers.
“This organization will do whatever it takes to win,” he said. “Resources out the [ears]. That was different for me compared to what I was going through in L.A. So it’s just like, man, this is what it’s supposed to be like. I forgot how that felt.”
The Chargers have ended their last two seasons in frustrating fashion under current head coach Brandon Staley, blowing a 27-0 lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Saturday’s Wild Card playoff matchup.
Jaguars 27 point comeback vs the Chargers in 2 minutes pic.twitter.com/J0yZOzqrCo
— Frankie G (@FrankieG1998) January 15, 2023
Yet, it appears they will hold onto Staley, as they instead fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.
Many have accused the Chargers of skimping on head coaching hires, a criticism that goes back many years.
The 49ers, on the other hand, started a rebuild in 2014, and after then-executive Trent Baalke was criticized for some moves he made, such as firing successful head coach Jim Harbaugh, the franchise cleared house, bringing in Kyle Shanahan and executive John Lynch.
What could’ve been a long rebuilding process only lasted a few short years, and now the Niners could be less than a month away from their sixth world championship.
Those who do what others aren’t willing to do will have nice things others cannot have.
