There's no better place to find out the pulse of the league than at the NFL Scouting Combine.
With Indianapolis annually serving as the nexus of the football universe just before the start of the new league year, anyone who's anyone sets up shop in the Circle City.
And when you mention the Los Angeles Chargers to them, there's one name in particular they're quick to praise right off the bat.
Anthony Lynn.
Entering his third season, the Bolts' head coach earns rave reviews for his leadership, and no-nonsense approach to the game.
As they put it, the Chargers have taken on his identity through and through.
"Identity is a good word for it because (the team) is just like him," said NFL Insider Ian Rapoport. "He's a hardened guy. He believes what he believes. He's very tough-minded. He is not shy. So he'll just tell you what he thinks, and it leads to a very realistic view of yourself. For players, it's here is what I need to improve on and here's where I need to get better."
Rapoport was far from alone in that praise.
"Anthony Lynn is what we call a CEO head coach," said SiriusXM's Adam Caplan. "I've used examples like a Tom Coughlin. He's not specifically calling plays. He's not running a position day-to-day. He can oversee what he wants; he's the head coach. But he manages his coaches and his roster just as well as anyone else in the National Football League."
"Anthony keeps it real," added fellow SiriusXM host Alex Marvez. "That's the thing. He's just straight up, and players respect that. He's a former player himself, and I actually covered Anthony back when he played for the Denver Broncos in the two Super Bowl seasons that they had. So there's that respect, and I think he makes good game management decisions, as well. He's surrounded himself, too, with great coordinators."
Those three quotes are just a few of a litany that emanated out of Indy over the past week.
So, how does Lynn feel about the universal praise?
Pretty much exactly how you'd think.
"I know that when you're building a team, it's way bigger than one person," the head coach said. "It's an organization. And that's where it starts. With our leadership. Our management. Our entire coaching staff. The players that we bring on this team, they've bought in and have taken ownership of this program. So, it's way bigger than one person. Always has been, always will be."
