USC hires defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn away from UCLA
The wait is over -- USC has its defensive coordinator.
The Trojans are hiring D'Anton Lynn away from UCLA, the school announced Friday night after earlier reports by ESPN's Pete Thamel and The Athletic's Bruce Feldman.
The news comes nearly a month after USC coach Lincoln Riley fired former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch on Nov. 5.
Per Feldman, the Trojans will pay Lynn $2 million a year on a three-year contract, doubling his UCLA salary.
"We are thrilled to welcome D'Anton and his family to USC," Riley said in a statement. "We simply couldn't ask for a better addition to our staff. His successful experiences in both college and the NFL make him the perfect fit for our program. I hope you will join me in welcoming him to the Trojan Family."
Lynn is in his first season as a coordinator and already made himself into a rising star in the sport, as he's turned around a UCLA defense that ranked 89th nationally last season in yards (405.2 YPG) and points allowed (29.0 PPG) and just finished the regular season ranked 11th -- tops in the Pac-12 -- in giving up just 299.0 YPG and 16th in scoring defense (18.08 PPG).
The Bruins have held seven of their 10 opponents under 300 yards -- including Utah (219), Washington State (216), Colorado (242) and Arizona State (250). USC got an up-close look at his defense in its regular-season finale, with Riley calling it the best defensive line the Trojans have faced all season.
UCLA ranked fourth nationally in sacks with 41, including a career year from Laiatu Latu (13 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss). The Bruins ranked first nationally in rushing defense, holding opponents to an average of just 69.58 yards per game -- including holding USC to 3 net rushing yards when the teams played two weeks ago. He may have had an even bigger impact on the secondary -- his area of expertise -- as UCLA went from 118th nationally in pass defense (273 YPG) to 71st (229.4).
Prior to arriving in Westwood, Lynn was an assistant coach with four NFL teams from 2015-22, including serving as the secondary coach for the Houston Texans in 2020 and he safeties coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 2021-22. He is the son of former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn. He played defensive back at Penn State from 2008-11.
The 34-year-old is now tasked with resurrecting a USC defense that put up its worst numbers in program history, ranking tied for 120th out of 130 FBS teams in giving up 34.92 points per game and 438.8 yards per game.
Fans were critical of Riley for bringing Grinch back for a second season after the defense collapsed down the stretch last year, but Riley was resolute that Grinch -- who had served as his DC for three years at Oklahoma prior to following him to USC -- was the right man for the job and would get it turned around.
He did not. The Trojans were somehow even worse defensively this year despite upgrading the talent and depth on the defensive side through transfer and recruiting additions.
After USC gave up 52 points and 572 yards to Washington, Riley finally acknowledged change was needed, firing Grinch the next day and making defensive line coach Shaun Nua and linebackers coach Brian Odom co-interim coordinators.
The change didn't do much to stem the issues as the Trojans gave up 552 yards the next week in a loss at Oregon and closed the regular season with a 38-20 loss to the Bruins.
Of all the names that circulated as potential candidates for USC, Lynn was only right in the mix. After all, USC fans couldn't help but look across town and hope that their new defensive coordinator hire could work out as well as UCLA's hiring of Lynn did.
Now, the Trojans will see if that exact same hire can lead to similar results in Cardinal and Gold.
Everything USC struggled with defensively this year, UCLA excelled at, and perhaps no stat tells that better than this -- the Bruins were the only team in college football not to give up a rushing play of 20 yards or more while the Trojans gave up 23 such rushing plays (tied for 117th nationally).
The Trojans still have a yet-to-be-announced bowl game to play in, but it's unlikely Lynn would coach the defense during bowl practices, more likely spending his time evaluating the personnel and trying to bolster it through the end of this recruiting cycle with the transfer portal opening Monday and the early signing period for high school prospects just three weeks away.