Tag: D’Anton Lynn

Eric Bieniemy versus D’Anton Lynn in UCLA-USC football: let the chess match begin!

Bieniemy versus Lynn is a five-star coordinator clash in Los Angeles.

D’Anton Lynn knows his opponent in this year’s USC-UCLA football game. Eric Bieniemy was hired by UCLA football as its new offensive coordinator.

UCLA Wire wrote:

The UCLA Bruins search for an offensive coordinator is over. Shortly after Eric Bieniemy’s name began to gain steam, a report came out that he was finalizing a two-year deal with UCLA, per Adam Schefter of Pete Thamel of ESPN.

(snip)

Bieniemy is headed to UCLA as associate head coach and offensive coordinator as new head coach DeShaun Foster gets a veteran presence on the sidelines.

This move by DeShaun Foster puts Bieniemy up against new USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who was UCLA’s defensive coordinator last season. Let’s take an early look at this matchup.

USC defensive coaches are preaching patience before spring ball

D’Anton Lynn and Eric Henderson are keeping their cards close to the vest thus far at USC.

Everyone who cares about USC football is eager to know which players are going to be helped the most by the new defensive scheme being installed by D’Anton Lynn, with help from Eric Henderson and the rest of the Trojans’ rock-star defensive staff. It’s natural to want to see how this scheme will unlock the talents of players who struggled under Alex Grinch. If growth and evolution in this scheme can be exponential and substantial, USC’s ceiling for 2024 rises that much more than previously thought.

Given this obvious desire for fans and outsiders to learn more, it would be easy for Lynn and Henderson to feed that fire, but they actually stepped back from making firm and bold predictions for this defense. They explained why last week when they talked to Los Angeles media.

Let’s look at this notion of patience a little more:

D’Anton Lynn has many influences in football, but one stands above others

D’Anton Lynn’s defensive scheme contains many branches, but one coach provides the roots.

D’Anton Lynn told assembled members of the media last week that while his defensive scheme contains many influences and flavors, there is one man who centrally shaped his understanding of how to coach football: Rex Ryan, the former coach of the New York Jets who made multiple AFC Championship Game appearances with former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez as his starting signal-caller.

What does this mean for the scheme Lynn and USC will use this fall on the gridiron? We would all love to get clear answers right now, but it will be interesting to see what happens in spring practice with the installation of the scheme and how quickly the players are able to absorb it.

In the meantime, let’s look at some of the other influences for Lynn plus some additional observations he offered on installing a new defense at USC:

Lincoln Riley embraced D’Anton Lynn at USC because he studied the past

Lincoln Riley observed UCLA well before D’Anton Lynn came aboard. That was the root of this hire at USC.

Lincoln Riley was drawn to D’Anton Lynn as a candidate for USC’s defensive coordinator opening for a lot of reasons. Many of those reasons flow from what Riley saw and heard when he talked to Lynn face to face. However, the root of this decision and why Riley made it comes from the 2022 college football season.

Lynn did impress Riley in the job interview process. Any candidate for any job would necessarily have to impress the interviewer in order to get hired. This goes for any line of work, not just football coaching. However, there was something beyond the simple fact that Lynn aced the interview. He already had something in his pocket which increased his chances of working with Riley at USC.

It’s not as complicated as it might seem, either:

Player development is the clear theme for Lincoln Riley and USC’s defense in 2024

USC’s defensive coaches are using the same hymnal. They hope their defense sings with success in 2024.

USC did not have good teachers on its defensive coaching staff in 2023. Alex Grinch, Donte Williams, Roy Manning, Brian Odom — basically everyone other than Shaun Nua — did not come particularly close to maximizing the talent of various players and position groups on the Trojans’ roster. Nua was good. He developed Bear Alexander into a strong, high-quality defensive lineman whose play and overall influence were consistent through the season. It was hard to find another USC player who reached the standard Bear Alexander set. Accordingly, Lincoln Riley retained Nua and also retained Taylor Mays as an analyst, but he cut loose the other members of his defensive staff. It’s a move everyone saw as necessary.

What’s the new theme for the new defensive staff? You’ll find the answer soon enough when you look at some of the comments below from USC’s coaches:

2026 elite defensive back Jaelen Waters gets USC offer and a D’Anton Lynn visit

D’Anton Lynn visited this recruit and evaluated his film.

USC has thrown its hat into the ring on another recruit. This time it’s 2026 defensive back Jaelen Waters out of Seffner Florida’s Armwood High School. Waters has been offered by the Trojans.

The 6-foot-2-inch, 170-pound Waters loved his visit with defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn and USC.

“It was something I kinda saw coming,” said Waters. “He [Lynn] came to my school like last week. He said he was watching me, watching my film and stuff. He said he had to get me on campus. I told him that I was going to be on campus [Saturday].

Waters as a sophomore had 20 tackles, 6 pass deflections and 2.5 TFL in eight games.

Water is unrated and unranked by all of the major scouting outlets. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the his hometown team, the Florida Gators, a 67.2% chance of signing him early on, followed by the South Florida Bulls (5.3%), Jackson State Tigers (4.6%), and Ole Miss Rebels (3.8%).

USC continues to make forays into Florida and Georgia for prime talent. The Trojans will try to break through enough to leave a strong impression with other recruits in these talent-rich states.

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Q and A with UCLA Wire about Chip Kelly’s exit, new football coaching search, and more

Let’s see what UCLA Wire’s editor thinks about Chip Kelly and the Bruins’ head coaching search.

We have been here at Trojans Wire for several years. I have personally been on the job as Trojans Wire editor since early March of 2020, so I am approaching four years in this position. UCLA Wire is just a few weeks old. Former Trojans Wire staff writer Matt Wadleigh is the first site editor at UCLA Wire.

Matt Wadleigh helped us cover the Clay Helton firing and the coaching search which led to Lincoln Riley in the fall of 2021. He is now covering a coaching search at UCLA in his new role at UCLA Wire.

It was a natural and obvious choice to ask Matt about the Chip Kelly departure for Ohio State, the UCLA head coaching search, and other related topics.

D’Anton Lynn saw a sinking ship at UCLA, which is why he won’t replace Chip Kelly

D’Anton Lynn wanted out at UCLA. Don’t expect him to go back to the Bruins. Not happening.

D’Anton Lynn, if he had not left UCLA for the USC defensive coordinator job, might have been in line to replace Chip Kelly. It’s a very interesting “what if” to consider after Kelly left to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State. Lynn had to have known that Chip Kelly was not particularly happy or comfortable at UCLA. He could have played the long game, betting on the eventuality that Kelly would not stay at UCLA too much longer, maybe the 2024 season at most.

No one could have predicted that after UCLA refused to fire Kelly in November and December, Kelly would walk away voluntarily in February for a coordinator job. Lynn couldn’t have known that. He could have guessed, however, that Kelly was not going to coach UCLA beyond 2024. Lynn might have been in position to be the heir apparent in 2025. We’ll never know.

Let’s sort through some details of the Chip Kelly aftermath and look at the Bruins’ prospects in their coaching search, which are of interest to USC fans:

UCLA must hire D’Anton Lynn as next head coach after Chip Kelly bolts for Ohio State

D’Anton Lynn is an easy choice to become the next UCLA head coach. Do they make the call?

The UCLA Bruins football program has a hard decision to make. After Chip Kelly left to become the new offensive coordinator at Ohio State, the Bruins are suddenly in need of a coach in the middle of February.

But, they can do the right thing and make an easy phone call: D’Anton Lynn. The former UCLA DC left for the USC Trojans DC job earlier in the offseason.

However, a chance to become a head coach would be hard for Lynn to pass up, especially with the Bruins. If so, it is likely that a number of UCLA players would stay instead of entering the transfer portal.

The question is, does Martin Jarmond make the call?

Ravens hire new defensive coordinator, ending D’Anton Lynn speculation

The Ravens made their choice, and it’s not D’Anton Lynn. Everyone at USC can breathe more easily.

The threat has been extinguished. Any possible remaining risk that D’Anton Lynn would leave USC to become defensive coordinator at his former employer, the Baltimore Ravens, has been eliminated.

Ravens Wire has the breaking news on Thursday. Baltimore is promoting Zachary Orr to its defensive coordinator spot after Mike Macdonald left the franchise to take the open head coaching position with the Seattle Seahawks.

“The Ravens quickly replaced Mike Macdonald as defensive coordinator, promoting inside linebackers coach Zachary Orr,” Ravens Wire wrote.

“Orr, who played for the Ravens from 2014-2016, is a fast-rising star in the coaching ranks. He recently interviewed for the Packers defensive coordinator position.

“The 31-year-old Orr has been on the Ravens staff since 2017 save for one season with the Jaguars and Urban Meyer in 2021.”

D’Anton Lynn had worked with the Ravens prior to joining UCLA as defensive coordinator for the 2023 college football season. USC poached Lynn from UCLA in the midst of turmoil surrounding the Bruin football program.

Everyone at USC can rest easy now. It was never likely that Lynn would go to Baltimore, but if Mike Macdonald did leave — which he did — the door was cracked open. Now that door has been firmly closed. It will be exciting to see Lynn do his thing at USC, part of an all-star defensive coaching staff.

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