When Dan Campbell was hired as the Detroit Lions‘ next head coach, the focus quickly shifted to which coordinators and assistant coaches he would surround himself with.
Campbell proceeded to hire former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn to be his offensive coordinator and according to a rumor from the Oakland Press, Lynn passed on coaching a Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson to join the Lions.
From Oakland Press:
No thank you, Pete. I’m going to take the year off.
Not a direct quote from new Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn. But, reportedly, the former Los Angeles Chargers head man was planning on taking “a gap year” in 2021, even after Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks came calling about their coordinator vacancy earlier this offseason.
Lynn said he chose to come to Detroit because he “knew it was going to be special.”
“I got to know those two very well. They handled themselves like coaches as players. And so because coach (Bill) Walsh kind of picked me out and sat me aside and talked to me about coaching and it worked, I try to do the same thing with current players,” Lynn said. “I just helped plant that seed — when you’re done playing, that’s something I think you should do. And, I did that with Dan and Aaron Glenn.
“And, I was actually going to sit this year out. But, when they called, I had to go, because I wanted to be a part of that. I knew it was going to be special.”
There were reports in January that Lynn was a top candidate for the Seahawks and that he was open to taking a coordinator position, but we were unable to find legit reports that he turned them down.
