New Los Angeles Chargers Head Coach Anthony Lynn had his first on-field practice session with players Tuesday at Chargers Park in San Diego.
“It was good to be on the field and be out in the sunlight, watching the guys run around and actually coach a little bit,” said Lynn after practice.
NFL rules prevented Lynn from being on the field during off-season workouts prior to Tuesday.
“I thought it went well, guys on the field doing football drills, it’s all about getting used to your coaches and our philosophies. I thought the first day was pretty productive”
While Coach Lynn was on the field, many high profile Chargers were not. Quarterback Philip Rivers, tight-end Antonio Gates and defensive lineman Joey Bosa were among frontline players not on the field Tuesday.
When asked about Rivers' absence, Lynn said “Philip had an obligation with his family, so he’ll be back next week.”
Conversely, Bosa’s absence was clearly not excused. When asked what’s going on with Bosa, Lynn said “You’re guess is as good as mine. Joey and I talked the first day and he’s training with his guy somewhere, but like I said I’m only focused on guys that are here, trying to build a team. These are voluntary workouts, so guys can do whatever they want to do.”
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The absence of key players from Tuesday’s workout is just the latest in an ongoing turbulent Chargers off-season. Over three months ago, the Chargers announced the franchise was moving to Los Angeles, yet here the team is still practicing and operating out of Chargers Park in Murphy Canyon. The team doesn’t plan on moving to its new facility in Costa Mesa until July.
As a result, it’s a team in geographic transition, many of the players are bouncing between San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles. Until the move is completed this summer, the transitory nature of the team, has many players and coaches living in hotels in San Diego.
Coach Lynn downplayed the impact the move is having on his team, “This time of year a lot of guys live in hotels anyway, especially guys who don’t know if they’ll be on the team or not, it doesn’t make sense to go out and get a 12-month lease, so this is pretty normal for guys to be in hotels.”
Coach Lynn added that people in the Chargers organization have made “the transition as smooth as possible.”
The San Diego Chargers finished the 2016 season with a 4-12 record. The Chargers have the 7th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The first round of the draft is April 27th.
