Chargers Head Coach Anthony Lynn Reveals He Had COVID-19

Timothy RappAug 11, 2020

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn revealed on the first episode of HBO's Hard Knocks, which aired Tuesday night, that he previously had COVID-19.

His full opening remarks to the Chargers were as follows:

"I can't promise you that you aren't going to get infected. ... I got infected. I've talked to some people that say they're sick of this virus. All right, what the hell's that supposed to mean? Let me tell you something, you ain't promised next year. You ain't promised tomorrow. What I want to do is I want to limit your exposure, but then once that whistle blows, let's go kick someone's ass. Let's play some football. One team will do this better than the other 31. Trust me. It might as well be us."

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Lynn is one of three NFL head coaches to announce he had contracted the coronavirus, joining Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints and Doug Pederson of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Star defensive end Joey Bosa appeared to be stunned by Lynn's revelation during a team Zoom call:

"The most responsible team is going to be the one who wins," Bosa said back on Aug. 3, per Lindsey Thiry of ESPN, a similar message to the one his head coach expressed during Tuesday night's Hard Knocks.

Lynn, 51, has spent three seasons as the Chargers head coach, going 26-22. He led the Chargers to the postseason in 2018 after a 12-4 season.

Prior to becoming the head honcho with the Chargers, he served as a special teams assistant with the Denver Broncos (2000-02); a running backs coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-04), Dallas Cowboys (2005-06) and Cleveland Browns (2007-08); spent time with the New York Jets (2009-14) as a running backs coach and assistant head coach; and had a stint with the Buffalo Bills (2015-16) as a running backs coach and assistant coach while also serving as the team's offensive coordinator in 2016.

The Chargers, like the rest of the NFL, are heading into an unprecedented season given the COVID-19 pandemic. It sounds as though Lynn will be taking the situation seriously and enforcing the necessary medical and safety precautions.