Lincoln Riley explains choice of D'Anton Lynn as defensive coordinator

After parting ways with former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch following USC‘s Week 10 loss to the Washington Huskies, it didn’t take long for the Trojans to find their new DC in D’Anton Lynn. USC announced on Saturday, Dec. 1, the hiring of Lynn, successfully swiping him from crosstown rival UCLA.

The hire is significant for several different reasons. But which ones stick out the most to USC head coach Lincoln Riley? And what made him believe Lynn was the right man to take over the reins of his Trojans defense? Riley explained all of that on Monday during a conference call following USC’s selection to the holiday bowl.

“What stood out to me from the first conversation that we had, just his vision for obviously the job they’ve done at UCLA, his vision for what this could be here,” said Riley. “And I think you’re looking for people that are going to come in and make us better and add to us day one by walking in the door, which he checked that box.

“But also, people that have a shared vision of USC — what this program means, what it can be, [and] what it needs to continue to climb. We were just very, very in sync that way from the beginning. It was tough to ignore just his pedigree, [and] the NFL experience.”

Lynn, who is 34 years old, spent the 2023 season as the defensive coordinator at UCLA. The NFL experience Riley is referring to is the nearly 10 years he spent as an assistant coach for several NFL franchises, including teams known for their defense, such as the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. However, it wasn’t just Lynn’s experience at the NFL that caught Riley’s attention. In Week 12, USC got to see firsthand what a Lynn-led defense can do as the Bruins took down the Trojans 38-20.

“I got a look at the job that he did with UCLA this year [and] the jump that they had defensively was important,” said Riley. “You could really see the key differences.

“I think he’s a rising star in this coaching profession. [In] every conversation that we had, I felt more and more like this was the guy that we really wanted. This would be the best possible outcome. [I] was obviously really happy that this matched up. I went into this thing with the goal of bringing the very best here, and I feel like that we’ve done that.”

There’s a stark difference in the performances of USC’s defense this year compared to UCLA’s. The Trojans’ allowed north of 35 points a game compared to the Bruins’ 18.1, which is good for 16th best in the nation. They were also ranked 11th in yards per game, giving up just under 300 per contest, with Lynn calling the shots. And that is just the type of defense USC needs going forward, especially with them heading to the Big Ten next season.