Entering his third season, Chargers coach Anthony Lynn has quickly established himself as one of the more respected in the league because of the success that the team has had since his arrival.

Los Angeles has progressively gotten better, going from 5-11 (prior to him taking over) to a 12-4 record in a span of three years. The recognition goes to the players that have helped contribute, but Lynn deserves a lot of credit.

In a recent ranking of all NFL head coaches, Sporting News’ Bill Bender recognized Lynn as the ninth-best coach.

We said last year Lynn would move up if the Chargers had a top-10 defense, and Los Angeles ranked eighth in scoring defense last season. That made for back-to-back winning seasons for this franchise, and Lynn has been the biggest influence behind its culture change. The playoff loss in New England last season counts as on-the-job training.

Lynn finished as the runner-up to Bears’ Matt Nagy for the Coach of the Year award this past season.

In 2018, Lynn built a strong résumé with road wins in Seattle, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Kansas City, four of the most hostile environments in the NFL. He helped them get over the losing hump that they struggled to get over from the previous seasons. He also guided them to a trip to the playoffs, the first time since 2013.

His motivating presence has impacted the players off the field, in the locker room and on the field. The culture change is evident and everyone feels comfortable with him leading the team down the stretch, and hopefully to a trip to the Super Bowl with the pieces they have.