Report: USC to hire UCLA's D'Anton Lynn as next defensive coordinator

USC has its next defensive coordinator. On Thursday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the Trojans will be hiring UCLA’s D’Anton Lynn.

“USC is finalizing a deal to hire UCLA defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn,” Thamel wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. “UCLA finished No. 11 in total defense in his first year there this season, an improvement from No. 89 the year before.”

Lynn will replace Alex Grinch, who USC fired on Nov. 5. In 12 games this season, USC has allowed 438.8 yards per contest, ranking 120th in the country. In comparison, Lynn has guided UCLA’s defense to only give up 299 yards per outing, the 11th-least in the nation.

Perhaps Lynn made his greatest impression on USC when the Bruins dominated the Trojans in a 38-20 blowout victory in Week 12. In the win, UCLA squeezed three turnovers out of USC, including a rare interception out of 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.

UCLA wasn’t only successful defending USC’s air raid. The Bruins only allowed the Trojans to pick up three rushing yards in the game on 22 carries. After the loss, USC head coach Lincoln Riley praised UCLA’s defense.

“They’re good,” Riley said. “It’s the best D-line that we’ve played this year, which we kind of thought that coming in. They’re a good group. We didn’t play very good in the run game. I mean, we didn’t. We tried there. We just weren’t getting a whole lot of momentum with it.

“The run defense and our inability to run the ball was a big part of it because then those good pass rushers are to able to start teeing off, and obviously not the situation that you want to be in.”

Evidently, Riley wasn’t the only looking for a better situation. Lynn was with the Bruins for less than a year. He was hired as defensive coordinator for UCLA football on Feb. 27, 2023. Lynn’s move comes only days after a report emerged solidifying Chip Kelly as the program’s head coach next season despite initial rumors.

More on D’Anton Lynn

Lynn was equally successful as a coach on the NFL level. Before joining UCLA, Lynn spent two seasons coaching the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive backs. In 2022, the Baltimore defense surrendered just 18.5 points per game, good for third in the league.

With Lynn overseeing the defensive backs in 2021, the Ravens recorded a third-down defense rate of 34.8% that ranked third overall. Lynn also found success with the Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.

Lynn played four seasons at Penn State. While there, he was a standout cornerback, amassing Lynn 162 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four interceptions and a fumble recovery.