COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers fired coach Anthony Lynn less than two seasons after he led the franchise to the playoffs.

Lynn is the sixth NFL coach fired this season, joining Houston’s Bill O’Brien, Atlanta’s Dan Quinn, Detroit’s Matt Patricia, Adam Gase of the New York Jets and Jacksonville’s Doug Marrone.

Los Angeles won its final four games to finish 7-9, but it wasn’t enough to save Lynn’s job.

“I’m not sure there is another person in this league more respected as a human being than Anthony,” Owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. “This is a results-driven business, and simply put, the results of the past two years have fallen short of expectations.”

Hired by the Chargers in January 2017, Lynn was the first Black head coach in franchise history. He went 34-32 with Los Angeles, but just 12-20 over the last two seasons. He had one year remaining on his contract.

Los Angeles started 0-4 during Lynn’s first season in 2017, but finished 9-7 after winning six of the last seven games. That served as a springboard to 2018 as the Chargers went 12-4, which tied for the best record in the AFC. They defeated Baltimore in the wild card round before losing to New England in the divisional playoffs.

JAGUARS: Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan plans to have the team’s next head coach and general manager report directly to him, a structure he expects will keep him in the loop on major personnel decisions.

Khan said Monday he will have “roster control,” but he later clarified that to mean “you don’t want players going in and out or contracts given until you’re aware of that.”

Khan also made it clear finding a franchise quarterback – hello, Trevor Lawrence – is as important as hiring the right people to those key positions.

“What’s evaded the history of the Jags really has been a franchise quarterback,” Khan said. “I think what’s unique is we have the ability now to make a choice and it’s going to define the franchise moving forward.”

Khan fired coach Doug Marrone on Monday, a little more than 12 hours after ending the season with a 15th consecutive loss. It was a move many thought he should have made a year earlier. But Khan gave Marrone another chance to make Jacksonville a playoff contender again.

Marrone came up well short of the owner’s expectations, making Khan’s decision easy and expected. It was the first time Marrone has been fired in three decades of coaching.

Marrone went 25-44 in four-plus seasons in Jacksonville, including 2-1 in the postseason. The Jaguars just missed the franchise’s first Super Bowl in 2017 and mired near the bottom of the league since. Marrone lost 21 of his final 24 games, including 15 by double digits.

PANTHERS: Carolina began its search for a new general manager.

A person familiar with the situation says the Panthers have requested permission to talk to Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio, Bills Assistant General Manager Joe Schoen and Browns Vice President of Player Personnel Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. The team is also expected to interview former Giants general manager Jerry Reese.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on Monday on condition of anonymity because the team has not made its search public.

The Panthers are looking for a replacement for longtime GM Marty Hurney, who was fired last month.

BUCCANEERS: An MRI performed on Mike Evans’ injured left knee showed no structural damage and the receiver’s status for Tampa Bay’s first playoff game in 13 years is day to day.

Evans was hurt during the first quarter of Sunday’s regular-season finale against Atlanta, one play after a 20-yard reception made him the first player in NFL history to begin a career with seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

Coach Bruce Arians described the injury as a hyperextension and said there was little swelling in the knee Monday. He’s hopeful Evans can get on the practice field Thursday in preparation for Saturday night’s NFC wild-card game at Washington.

The Bucs (11-5) are in the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

“If he’s 80% we’d have to fight to keep him off the field,” Arians said. “At 80%, he’s better than some guys at 100.”

BROWNS: Starting defensive end Olivier Vernon ruptured his Achilles tendon during Sunday’s playoff-clinching win over Pittsburgh and is done for the season.

Coach Kevin Stefanski said that Vernon, who has played well in his second year with Cleveland, will have surgery.

“Obviously I’m very disappointed for O.V.,” Stefanski said. “He was playing at a high level. We’re going to miss his leadership.”

Stefanski declined a chance to update the status on top cornerback Denzel Ward, who missed Sunday’s game after testing positive for COVID-19 and could possibly return for the playoff game at Pittsburgh.

RAIDERS: Las Vegas running back Josh Jacobs received minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after a pre-dawn single-vehicle crash Monday near McCarran International Airport, authorities said.

A Las Vegas police report said Jacobs, 22, was taken to a hospital for treatment of a cut on his forehead after an air bag deployed when the 2019 Acura NSX sports car he was driving crashed into a tunnel wall at the Las Vegas airport, prosecutor Eric Bauman said.

Police at the scene determined the 5-foot-10, 220-pound Jacobs was impaired by alcohol, and blood was drawn at the hospital, Bauman said. Laboratory results can take several weeks.

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