A month after becoming the Chargers’ 16th head coach, Anthony Lynn has officially completed his staff of 18 assistants.
One of the final additions was linebackers coach Richard Smith, who most recently served as the Falcons defensive coordinator. The longtime NFL assistant interviewed with the Chargers late last week, a few days after Atlanta fired him following its loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
It was yet another twist in a staff hiring process that had become a month-long search for Lynn.
“At some point, you think you have it nailed down, and someone else becomes available,” he said last week. “You put things on pause, and you cover all your bases.”
Lynn retained offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt almost immediately upon arrival, and also hired defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and special teams coordinator George Stewart by the end of January.
Other new additions to the Chargers are offensive line coach Pat Meyer and running backs coach Alfredo Roberts. James Cregg, a former USC staffer, is the new assistant offensive line coach, while Eric Henderson is the new assistant defensive line coach.
Dan Shamash is the new offensive quality control coach. Lynn’s son, D’Anton, is a defensive assistant.
In addition to Whisenhunt, Lynn also retained defensive backs coach Ron Milus, defensive line coach Giff Smith, assistant defensive backs coach Chris Harris, assistant special teams coach Marquice Williams, tight ends coach John McNulty, receivers coach Nick Sirianni, quarterbacks coach Shane Steichen and offensive assistant Mark Ridgely.
Ridgely, who enters his sixth season on staff, is now the Chargers’ longest-tenured assistant.
Contact the writer: jwang@scng.com
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