The Big Ten is set to add four schools from the now dismantled Pac-12 in 2024, and with it will come two solid rivalries. On the same day rivals Washignton and Oregon faced off for the final Pac-12 championship, at least as we know it, USC made headlines with its new defensive coordinator hire. USC hired former Penn State cornerback [autotag]D’Anton Lynn[/autotag] to be its next defensive coordinator, officially replacing Adam Grinch in the role after an in-season staff change for the Trojans.
Lynn won’t have to relocate for the new job though. Lynn was most recently on the coaching staff at UCLA, USC’s crosstown rival, running the defense for Chip Kelly. The logic here may be along the lines of “if you can’t beat ’em, hire ’em.” UCLA held USC to 20 points in their annual rivalry game late in the regular season and held the Trojans to just 3 rushing yards as a team, bringing down quarterback Caleb Williams for a loss of 20 yards (Williams did pass for 384 yards).
Sources: USC is finalizing a deal to hire UCLA defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. UCLA finished No. 11 in total defense in his first year there this season, an improvement from No. 89 the year before. pic.twitter.com/habw0PtNgg
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 2, 2023
Lynn was a four-star recruit of Penn State in the Class of 2008 and he ended his college career with 162 tackles and 4 interceptions. He was an honorable All-Big Ten player three times. After his time at Penn State, Lynn signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent but was released before the start of the 2012 season. He later signed with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats but was with the team for just a few weeks. From there, Lynn turned to coaching,
Lynn returned to the Jets as an intern in the team’s scouting department and went on to make stops with the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans in various defensive assistant roles. The Texans promoted Lynn to the team’s secondary coach in 2020 and he continued as the safeties coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 2021 and 2022. Lynn was given the chance to be the head coach in the East-West Shrine Game in 2022.
Kelly hired Lynn for his first time as a defensive coordinator in February 2023 and he quickly oversaw some good improvement with the UCLA defense. UCLA’s regular season ended with a dud with a 33-7 loss to Cal but 2 of UCLA’s 5 losses only saw the Bruins allow a maximum of 17 points.
Penn State will visit USC and Lynn next season for the first time in Big Ten play. Penn State visits USC on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, a week after hosting UCLA.
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