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Although he won two Super Bowl rings as a running back before beginning a coaching career that eventually put him in charge of the Los Angeles Chargers last season, Lynn never forgot about missing his college graduation.

On Saturday, the Chargers' 49-year-old head coach will take that long-delayed walk to get his diploma when he receives his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies at UNLV.

"Football has always been my No. 1 priority, and sometimes that's good, sometimes that's bad," the Chargers' head coach said Friday after running a workout with their rookies and undrafted free agents. "But I chose football over education. I thought, at some point, 'No more excuses. Just go back and get it done.'"

While he led the Chargers to a 9-7 record last season, Lynn was also hitting the books. He spent the past 18 months completing his coursework while simultaneously navigating his first head coaching job.

Lynn didn't say much about his studies to his Chargers assistants or players, but he strategized like any good coach to manage his workload. With the help of a counselor, Lynn used a five-week down period in last summer's schedule to line up his daily educational goals and deadlines for the following year.

"It requires you to be a master planner," Lynn said with a grin.

He recently completed his 30-page capstone research project about the challenges and pitfalls facing athletes as they make the transition into post-competitive life. After starting out with the goal of learning more about the mental health of athletes with head injuries, Lynn eventually took 30 hours of online classes in subjects such as sociology, public health and psychology.

"Mental health is broader than what I thought," Lynn said. "Things like identity crisis. Things like boredom with athletes post-career, and how that can lead to other sicknesses that are sometimes fatal. So that's probably the biggest thing I learned."

The seeds of Lynn's return were planted in 2014 while he was on Rex Ryan's staff with the New York Jets. Dave Szott, Lynn's good friend and a former Jets lineman who became a coach and executive with the club, finished his degree 15 years after leaving Penn State with the encouragement of his own wife, Andrea.

"I remember she looked at me and said, 'Coach Jonathan Drouin Jersey , you should do the same,'" Lynn recalled. "'There's no reason why you shouldn't do that, no excuses.' And that just gave me a little push and inspired me to go back, or at least investigate it."

Lynn put it off for a couple of years while he moved with Ryan to Buffalo and attempted to land his own head coaching job. He eventually connected with an educational firm that has expertise in such endeavors, and he committed to his studies in earnest in 2017.

"I said, 'You know what? It's now or never,'" Lynn recalled with a smile. "And then I become a head coach."

But with the Chargers' encouragement, Lynn decided to continue his educational pursuits. He did most of his coursework remotely, but also went to UNLV recently for face-to-face discussions with his professors.

Lynn also was motivated by his highly educated children. His daughter, Danielle, is receiving her master's degree in business administration from the University of North Texas next week. His son, D'Anton, a former Penn State defensive back, will miss the graduation ceremony at UNLV because he'll be at work with the Houston Texans in his new job as an assistant coach.

"They were happy," Lynn said. "I'm not the butt of the jokes anymore when I go to one of their graduations. They would always say stuff like, 'That's why you didn't graduate.' I'd talk about how hard I work. 'That's why you didn't graduate.'"

Lynn wasn't planning to participate in UNLV's graduation ceremony until he realized what it could mean to other athletes, coaches and professionals facing similar educational challenges. His mother and daughter will be in attendance in Las Vegas along with Chargers owner Dean Spanos and his wife, Susie.

"I decided to walk, because if it could inspire one person, then it's worth it Paul Stastny Jersey ," Lynn said. "Dave Szott inspired me. Maybe if I inspire one, then it's worth it."

The rookie will become the youngest quarterback to start a season opener in the Super Bowl era 鈥?since the 1966 season 鈥?at 21 years and 97 days old at kickoff against the Lions in Detroit.

Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick, beat out incumbent Josh McCown and the since-traded Teddy Bridgewater for the Jets' starting job with a solid summer and preseason.

"We are trying to help the team win and we feel like he gives us a good chance to win," coach Todd Bowles said. "We're not starting him because he's a rookie and he's not ready. We're starting him because he gives us a chance to win the game."

Darnold will also be the first rookie quarterback to start a season opener on "Monday Night Football." The former USC star is used to the spotlight and playing in big games, but even the coolest of California kids might feel a little case of the nerves before this prime-time debut.

"I'm just going about the week like how I normally would, so just going about it that way," Darnold said. "I think toward the game I might get a little nervous. I guess we'll see."

The Jets have had just two rookie quarterbacks open a season under center: Mark Sanchez (2009) and Geno Smith (2013). Nope, not even Joe Namath did what Darnold is about to accomplish. Broadway Joe was Mike Taliaferro's backup for New York's season opener in 1965 before starting the next three games.

Oh, and both Sanchez and Smith won in their debuts, so Darnold could make it 3-0 for Jets rookie starting QBs.

But he also has a bit of history against him.

Here's a look at how the previous youngest quarterbacks to start a season opener in the Super Bowl era fared in their first NFL games:

DREW BLEDSOE, New England Patriots, Sept. 5, 1993 (21 years, 203 days)

Loss: Buffalo 38, New England 14

After being the No. 1 overall pick, Bledsoe started right away for the Patriots 鈥?and had a rough debut at Buffalo. He went 14 of 30 for 148 yards and two touchdowns with an interception and was sacked three times while losing to Jim Kelly and the Bills.

Bledsoe started 12 games as a rookie for Bill Parcells' Patriots, going 5-7 and finishing with 15 TDs and 15 INTs. He soon carved out a terrific career for himself and was selected to four Pro Bowls. A serious chest injury in the second game of the 2001 season against the Jets gave Tom Brady a chance to play 鈥?and the rest is, well, NFL history.

MATTHEW STAFFORD Authentic Josh Manson Jersey , Detroit Lions, Sept. 13, 2009 (21 years, 219 days)

Loss: New Orleans 45, Detroit 27

Stafford beat out veteran Daunte Culpepper for the starting job in training camp and was under center for the season opener at New Orleans.

Stafford went 16 of 37 for 205 yards and was intercepted three times, including twice by Darren Sharper, in the blowout loss. He ran for a touchdown, though.

The No. 1 overall pick that year had much better days to come.

Stafford is the fastest player to reach 3,000 completions and last year joined Brett Favre, Dan Marino and Peyton Manning as the only QBs to reach 200 career TD passes before the age of 30.

JAMEIS WINSTON, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sept. 13, 2015 (21 years, 250 days)

Loss: Tennessee 42, Tampa Bay 14

Winston was the top pick in the draft that year and had a solid summer to win the starting job. He got off to a bad start in front of the home crowd, though, as his first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Coty Sensabaugh. It marked the first time a rookie's first throw was returned for a TD since Brett Favre 鈥?then with Atlanta 鈥?in 1991.

Winston was 16 of 33 for 210 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions, along with four sacks. He was outplayed by fellow rookie Marcus Mariota, the second overall selection that year, who threw four TD passes.

DeSHONE KIZER Nikita Kucherov Jersey , Cleveland Browns, Sept. 10, 2017 (21 years, 250 days)

Loss: Pittsburgh 21, Cleveland 18

Kizer was a second-round pick out of Notre Dame and beat out the likes of Brock Osweiler, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan to start the game at home.

He also nearly helped pull off an opening day upset , going 20 of 30 for 222 yards with a TD and an interception while also running for a 1-yard score that capped an impressive 12-play drive.

But Kizer was benched a few times during the Browns' 0-16 season and traded to Green Bay in the offseason.

GREG LANDRY, Detroit, Sept. 15, 1968 (21 years, 272 days)

Loss: Dallas 59, Detroit 13

Landry was a first-round pick of the Lions out of UMass and started the season opener 鈥?and it wasn't good. He threw four interceptions, including one returned 35 yards for a TD by Chuck Howley, in the rout.

He finished 15 of 31 for 231 yards and had two touchdown tosses, but was benched in favor of Bill Munson in Week 2. Landry started one more game as a rookie 鈥?a 12-0 loss to Philadelphia 鈥?before becoming mostly a solid backup and spot starter for Detroit through 1978. He also played for Baltimore and Chicago, as well as two years in the USFL.