Washington Commanders are interviewing 49ers Assistant Head Coach/RBs Coach Anthony Lynn for OC today

Feb 1, 2023 - 5:30 PM

Update: The 49ers have been eliminated from the playoffs, freeing up Anthony Lynn for today’s requested interview

The Washington Commanders fired Scott Turner after the season, and they have interviewed 5 current and former coaches so far to fill their open offensive coordinator position.

• Former Browns and Giants HC Pat Shurmur
• Washington Commanders QB Coach Ken Zampese
• Falcons QB Coach Charles London
• Dolphins Associate HC/RBs Coach Eric Studesville
• Rams Assistant HC/TEs Coach Thomas Brown

Nicki Jhabvala broke the news yesterday that Washington has requested an interview with San Francisco 49ers Assistant HC/RBs Coach Anthony Lynn for an interview. John Keim added that a formal request won’t be made until after the 49ers visit the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC Championship game on Sunday. If San Francisco defeats the Eagles and earns a shot at another Lombardi trophy, they will have two weeks to prepare, and also have a window for assistant coaches to interview for bigger jobs elsewhere.

Anthony Lynn was a backup running back/special teams player during his 8 year career in the NFL. He has two Super Bowl rings for being a part of the Denver Broncos teams that won back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998. Lynn’s coaching career began with the Broncos as a special teams assistant in 2000. Lynn joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as their running backs coach three years later, and he held the same job with the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and New York Jets. He added the assistant head coach title after three years with the Jets.

Lynn got his first offensive coordinator job with the Buffalo Bills, and was their interim head coach for one game after Rex Ryan was fired. He was hired as the head coach for the San Diego Chargers the following year, and held that job for 4 seasons, and had a 33-31 record, and a 1-1 record in the playoffs following their 12-4 season in 2018. Lynn spent one season as the OC for the Detroit Lions in 2021, but was not retained after they mutually agreed to part ways. He joined Kyle Shanahan’s coaching staff last year as an assistant head coach/running backs coach, replacing former Redskins RBs coach Bobby Turner.

Anthony Lynn has extensive history in the NFL as a running backs coach, but his time as an offensive coordinator was limited to just two seasons. When he was a head coach he had Ken Whisenhunt as his offensive coordinator, and also had Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni(WRs) and Eagles OC Shane Steichen(QBs) on his coaching staff. Ron Rivera and Martin Mayhew made it clear they want an offense that can run the ball, and run the ball often. That’s Lynn’s bag, but it doesn’t look like he’s the guy to be calling plays and running an offense. Lions HC Dan Campbell took over offensive play calling from Lynn during his lone season with the team.