New England Is Familiar Territory For Chargers Coach With Local Roots

BOSTON (CBS) -- "He's just a kid from Dorchester, no matter where he's at," said Tamiko Lynch of her son Addison Lynch. Lynch is now part of the quality control and defensive staff of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Wide Receivers Coach Phil McGeoghan has local roots too, he grew up in Agawam.

Lynch's mother and grandmother sat down with WBZ-TV last week.

"I knew he would go down that road because that's always what he wanted to do, whatever football he could do," said grandma Gloria.

Flipping through the old family photos, Tamiko said Addison has had a special bond with the sport right from when he started playing Pop Warner.

"They gave him the name 'all-purpose.' I would say to the coach 'why all-purpose? Where did that come from?' They go, 'that kid can do anything, he can run offense, defense, he can tell the coach what to do," said Tamiko.

As he grew up, Addison's love for football took him further and further away from home.

First: to Braintree where he played high school ball, then to Bryant University in Rhode Island where he made the switch from quarterback to safety.

Then Addison moved down south to become a coach and started as a grad-assistant at Mississippi College. Remaining a student of the game, Addison then spent six seasons learning under Jimbo Fisher at Florida State University.

"I remember when he was in Florida, I called him early in the morning. He said 'grandma I'm at work! I've gotta watch these plays,'" said Gloria.

This past summer, Addison got the call from the Chargers to come up to the next level. He FaceTimed Tamiko. "Once that happened I'm like, 'this kid wants to see the expression on my face because he got the job!' Two weeks later he was packed up and was gone to California," she said.

Watching her son pursue his passion and climb the coaching ladder across the country is something Tamiko takes great pride in.

"My heart overflows, like permanent smiles, just so happy. Every step he takes it's just 'oh, thank God.'"

But this particular week, Addison's profession puts his family of Patriots fans in a bit of a tough position.

"I might be doing a little switching. It depends," admitted Tamiko laughing. "For me, I win regardless. Pats fan, LAC, I don't lose. For me, again, it's just my son's coming home and he hasn't been home in a while and it's gonna be a great game."