Browns interviewed former Chargers HC Anthony Lynn for their head coach vacancy on Saturday night
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns snuck in a head coach interview on Saturday evening in Florida with Anthony Lynn, their former running backs coach in 2007-08 and former head coach of the Chargers, a league source told cleveland.com.
Senior NFL insider Josina Anderson first reported the story.
It was Lynn’s first interviews with the Browns, and his second of the day after also interviewing for the Bills head coach vacancy.
Former Chargers general manager Tom Telesco, who’s serving as an advisor to the Browns during the coaching search, hired Lynn as head coach of the Chargers in 2017, where he went 33-31 in his four seasons, and helped facilitate the interview.
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. He’s one of two former NFL head coaches in the pool, along with Schwartz, and the 10th Browns candidate to interview overall.
Schwartz, Monken and Udinski have all interviewed with the Browns twice, and Scheelhaase will interview with them a second time on Monday — in Los Angeles a source told cleveland.com — after the Rams face the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
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, their 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 head job, and a pairing of Monken and Schwartz is within the realm of possibility.
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.
Lynn, currently serving as the Washington Commanders’ run game coordinator and running backs coach, 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 fielding punishing run games.
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 season of Lynn’s head coaching résumé came in 2018 when the Chargers won 12 games, their most victories in nearly a decade, and advanced to the Divisional Round, where they lost to the Patriots. 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.
But Lynn failed the make the playoffs in his final two seasons, and was fired in 2020 after going 7-9.
He spent a year as Lions offensive coordinator in 2021, and then moved onto San Francisco, where he served as assistant head coach/running backs coach from 2022-2023.
After the 49ers acquired running back Christian McCaffrey via trade in 2022, Lynn coached him to a pair of NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors and NFC Offensive player of the Month honors for December/January.
In 2023, McCaffrey who won AP Offensive Player of the Year and led the league in rushing yards (1,459) whiled finishing fourth for rushing touchdowns (14). McCaffrey earned Pro Bowl honors for the fourth consecutive season and was selected to the AP All-Pro first-team.
Lynn also worked with full back Kyle Juszczyk who earned Pro Bowl honors for the eighth consecutive season. The 49ers earned their second consecutive NFC West title and their first NFC championship since 2019.
With the Browns about to finish their second round of interviews with Scheelhaase on Monday, they could have their head coach in place soon, unless Scheelhaase is their top target and he makes it to the Super Bowl. In that scenario, they’d have to wait until after the Super Bowl Feb. 8 to formally hire him.
Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.
