Redskins Fire Lynn for Defensive Failure

During the season, the fans chanted, “Lynn must go.” Now, Lynn has gone.

Defensive coordinator Ron Lynn, bearing the brunt of team and public disenchantment over the Washington Redskins’ second-half collapse, was fired by Coach Norv Turner on Friday.

“I’m not going to cry unfair,” an emotional Lynn said as he left Redskin Park. “We didn’t get the job done. We were 9-7; that’s a heck of a lot better than when we got here.”

After a 7-1 start, the Redskins lost six of their next seven games and were eliminated from playoff contention with one week remaining in the season. Though the team finished with its first winning season since 1992, the defense was ranked 28th out of 30 teams and last against the run.

“I made the decision,” Turner said at a press conference. “I think it gives the Washington Redskins the chance to move on and be successful. I feel Ron has been dedicated, committed to what we’re trying to get done here. I just felt it was time for us to go in different directions.”

Turner said he and Lynn “struggled to find a reason” for the lack of consistent play of the defense, which mixed in a few solid games against Chicago and San Francisco with poor performances against Buffalo, Arizona and Tampa Bay.

The low point came when Boomer Esiason threw for 522 yards and the Cardinals piled up 615 yards as Arizona rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat the Redskins, 37-34, in overtime Nov. 10. That was also the first game at which fans began chanting for Lynn’s removal.

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Sunday’s NFC wild-card game between the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles could turn into a mud bowl.

Forecasters predict a major storm this weekend, with high winds and rain blowing over the already soggy field at Candlestick Park through Monday.

‘That’s just the way it is and we’ll both have to play in it,” San Francisco Coach George Seifert said Friday.

Philadelphia Coach Ray Rhodes said a wet, sticky field could work to the advantage of the 49ers, particularly quarterback Steve Young and receiver Jerry Rice, because they know the field so well.

49er linebacker Gary Plummer wouldn’t mind if the field comes up muddy.

“This is something that when you’re a kid, I can remember watching the early games on Sunday and it was raining all day long and you couldn’t wait to get to the park so you could go play in the mud, in the rain,” Plummer said. “It’s just so much more fun. It’s real football.

“Sometimes you look at football in the ‘90s and it’s all about showmanship and a bunch of prima donnas. This is where you really get to see the blue-collar work ethic come out.”