CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns snuck in a head coach interview on Saturday evening with Anthony Lynn, their former running backs coach in 2007-08 and former head coach of the Chargers.
Senior NFL insider Josina Anderson first reported the story, noting that it was Lynn’s first interview with the Browns. He’s also interviewed for the Bills head coach vacancy.
Lynn, 57, joins Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski and Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase as candidates to replace Kevin Stefanski.
Schwartz, Monken and Udinski have all interviewed with the Browns twice, and Scheelhaase will interview with them a second time on Monday after the Rams face the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
One of the most respected offensive minds in the game, Lynn also counts as one of the Browns’ two diverse candidates to satisfy the Rooney Rule, along with Scheelhaase.
The Browns will now be compliant after the Scheelhaase interview, and free to hire their head coach at any time. The Browns appear to be leaning towards hiring one of the two rising, young offensive stars in their candidate pool in Udinski, who turned 30 on Jan. 12, and Scheelhaase, 35. In that scenario, the hope would be that Schwartz, who’s under contract through 2026, will remain as defensive coordinator.
But Schwartz and Monken, both 59, are still in the mix for the job, and a pairing of Monken and Schwartz is not out of the question.
The Browns are also the last of the three teams in the AFC North to fill their vacancy, with the Steelers verbally agreeing with Mike McCarthy on Saturday, and the Ravens hiring former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter on Thursday.
Currently serving as the Washington Commanders’ run game coordinator and running backs coach, Lynn is drawing renewed attention this head-coaching cycle as teams seek experienced leaders to guide their franchises into the future.
A former NFL running back himself, Lynn parlayed an accomplished playing career into a long, varied coaching résumé. After starring at Texas Tech, Lynn spent six seasons with the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers in the 1990s, earning two Super Bowl rings with the Broncos.
He began his NFL coaching journey in 2000 with the Broncos and quickly became known as one of the league’s premier running backs coaches. Over the next 15 years, he held assistant positions with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Browns, New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, gaining a reputation for developing backfields and physical rushing attacks.
He spent two seasons in Cleveland under Romeo Crennel in 2007-08, coaching running back Jamal Lewis to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. He finished third in the NFL in 2007 with 1,304 yards, and eighth in 2008 with 1,002 yards.
The defining chapter of Lynn’s coaching résumé came in 2017, when he was hired as the head coach of the Chargers, becoming their 16th coach.
Across four seasons (2017–2020), Lynn compiled a 33–31 record, highlighted by a standout 2018 campaign in which the Chargers won 12 games and advanced to the playoffs — their best record in nearly a decade. That Chargers squad, led by veteran quarterback Philip Rivers, was known for its balanced offensive approach and physical identity.
In 2020, Lynn worked with rookie quarterback Justin Herbert who set NFL rookie records for most passing touchdowns (31) and offensive touchdowns (36). Herbert was named the 2020 Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year and the PFWA Rookie of the Year.
This post will be updated.
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