Raiders Go After Their Man : Ron Lynn, Chargers’ Defensive Coach, Is at Top of List

The Raider-Charger rivalry blazes anew. The Raiders have asked San Diego for permission to speak to Ron Lynn, the prize pony in the league-wide defensive-coordinator sweepstakes, sources say.

“I can’t comment on that,” Lynn said Friday.

At present, he’s the only man the Raiders have moved on, suggesting he’s at the top of their list.

Lynn, 44, is generally acknowledged as the hottest assistant on the staff of the just-fired Al Saunders. Lynn is a darling of the community in San Diego, where the thought of losing him to the hated Raiders won’t go down easily. He was already considered a candidate to replace Saunders, if not the leading candidate, but he may have just moved up.

The Raiders aren’t the only outsiders interested in him, either.

Steve Ortmayer, the Chargers’ general manager, said the Indianapolis Colts have already asked permission, and there may be more. The Denver Broncos have fired their defensive staff, too, and reportedly have Lynn at the top of their list.

The Chargers have given the Raiders permission to talk to Lynn, whose contract is up.

Lynn met Friday with Ortmayer, who reportedly told him of the Raiders’ interest. Ortmayer and Lynn will meet again Tuesday to discuss Lynn’s candidacy for the Charger head job.

Lynn coaches the attacking, blitz-the-quarterback style the Raiders want. He launched his first attacks on the pro level under Charlie Sumner, the just-fired Raider coordinator, when Sumner was head coach of the Oakland Invaders in the USFL.

The Invaders led the league in sacks in 1983 and were No. 2 against the run in ‘85, when they played in the championship game.

Lynn joined the Chargers in ‘86, inheriting a defense ranked No. 28 in a 28-team league, improved it to 23rd in his first season and to 15th in his second.

The Charger pass rush, which ranked No. 28 before his arrival, registered a club-record 62 sacks in his first season.

The Raiders had grown used to a similar reign of terror, building their success in the ‘80s on a fearsome pass rush that made everything else they did possible, like playing man-to-man in the secondary.

They led the league in sacks in 1980-86, ranking in the top three every season. This was all the more remarkable since they weren’t routinely blitzing dozens as teams like the Bears were. If the Raiders blitzed at all, they usually sent just one man, dominating with their young defensive line.

Sumner had a reputation as an attacker, himself, and his return from the USFL in ’86 was supposed to put the bite back in the pass rush, which had been confused under Bob Zeman, a soft-spoken man with DOG ‘EM on his license plate, who turned out to be overmatched.

What happened, instead, was that the line joined the general Raider malaise, and no one else on the defensive unit took up the slack.

Howie Long was double-teamed or injured, Bill Pickel fell off his star-bound pace and both seemed disoriented after crossing the picket line in ’87. Sean Jones, the team’s union rep and AFC sack leader in ‘86, was traded, due to post-strike bad feelings.

Meanwhile, Sumner kept his linebackers in pass coverage. Since 1984, when Rod Martin recorded 11 sacks, no Raider linebacker or safety has been near double figures Overall, the Raiders finished 8th and 12th in sacks in 1987-88.

Last season, they had another AFC sack leader--Greg Townsend, with 11 1/2--and found a good young lineman in rookie Scott Davis. However, there’s a feeling among the players that they need to go back to blitzing, which is where Lynn would come in.