Detroit Lions Fire OC Anthony Lynn

The Detroit Lions have fired offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, the team announced Monday.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell confirmed the news in his season-ending press conference and said the move "felt like this is just best for both of us."

"Look, he came here and took a leap of faith with us under the impression that he would be calling plays. It was not going to go in that direction again and that's not fair to him, either," Campbell said in a statement. "I wish him the best and he's been a true pro. He works his tail off and he gave us everything he had and I appreciate him for that."

After the team started 0-8 heading into their Week 9 bye week, Campbell took over playing calling and elevated Ben Johnson to a bigger role as the passing game coordinator. Lynn still ran the offensive meeting and the run game, but he was never content with a reduced role, the team said.

"The offense was much more explosive, particularly in the passing game, coming out of the bye week with Campbell calling plays," DetroitLions.com's Tim Twentyman writes. "Lions scored a third more touchdowns the second half of the season than they did the first half (21 vs. 14). Goff had a 85.3 passer rating through his first eight games, but elevated that to 101.8 post bye, working more closely with Campbell and Johnson."

Lynn, 53, joined Campbell's staff last offseason after he was fired by the Los Angeles Chargers. He was their head coach the previous four seasons.

The team said that Lynn brought a mentality and a game plan to run the football and be physical on offense, attributes the Lions' offense did take on, but not with the passing game and with quarterback Jared Goff.

Lynn played for Texas Tech before entering the league, where he played for the Denver Broncos — in 1993, and again in 1997–1999 — and the San Francisco 49ers — from 1995 to 1996. He was part of Denver's back-to-back Super Bowl champion teams in 1997 and 1998.

Follow Meg Turner on Twitter @Megnturner_ and Instagram @Megnturner.

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