Chargers new logo takes a hit on Twitter
Everything looks better in powder blue, even roundly mocked logos designed solely to commemorate an NFL team’s relocation from one city to another.
After the San Diego Chargers’ move to Los Angeles was announced Thursday, the team unveiled a new logo on its social-media accounts. The NFL tweeted (and later deleted) the logo, too, leaving many to believe that the Chargers were changing more than their zip code.
The navy blue and white “LA” logo — a departure from the Chargers’ traditional color scheme featuring powder blue and gold — was ridiculed on Twitter throughout the day. Many people joked that it looked like the Tampa Bay Lightning logo and Los Angeles Dodgers logo got together and had an ugly logo baby. (The Lightning were responsible for one of the best tweets of the day.) Subsequent reports that the logo isn’t replacing the Chargers’ lightning bolt logo did nothing to stem the tide of derision.
On Friday, the Chargers unveiled a new and improved version of the LA logo that, again, almost certainly won’t appear on their helmets or uniforms. To be clear, it’s the same logo the team revealed Thursday, only in powder blue and gold.
Even the Spokane Chiefs got in on the act, with a twist, tweeting out a Chiefs logo done in the same font and style as the old Chargers logo.
Chargers name Anthony Lynn coach
The Chargers hired Anthony Lynn as their head coach Friday night, one day after announcing their relocation to Los Angeles.
The 48-year-old Lynn is a respected veteran assistant who spent the last two seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He moved up during this season from running backs coach to offensive coordinator to interim head coach, presiding over the Bills’ final game after Rex Ryan was fired.
Lynn attracted extensive interest on the NFL job market, and the Chargers took a break from planning their move out of San Diego to secure a deal with him. Lynn becomes the first black coach in franchise history.
“This is really a dream come true,” Lynn said in a statement. “I want all of our fans to know that we’re going to start by putting together a great staff, and we’re going to put together a team with the heart and will of a champion. I know there’s a lot of work to be done, and I’m going to give everything I have to the Chargers, the Spanos family and the City of Los Angeles.”
Lynn replaces Mike McCoy, who was fired on Jan. 1 after going 27-37 in four seasons.
The coaching change coincided with the franchise upheaval caused by owner Dean Spanos’ decision to leave San Diego after 56 years to move two hours north, where the Chargers will play next season at the 30,000-seat StubHub Center in Carson before sharing the Los Angeles Rams’ palatial Inglewood stadium in 2019.
Lynn inherits a Chargers team that won only nine games over the past two seasons following 11 consecutive years in which they made six playoff appearances and never won fewer than seven games. McCoy’s Chargers repeatedly struggled in late-game situations despite a fairly talented roster, and San Diego missed the playoffs this year for the sixth time in seven seasons.
Ryan promoted Lynn to offensive coordinator in mid-September after firing Greg Roman. After Ryan was fired, Lynn ran the team for a loss to the New York Jets.