USC signs defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn to a contract extension
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After transforming USC’s struggling defense in a single season, rising star defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn signed a contract extension, the university announced Thursday.
The deal comes after Lynn rebuffed advances from his alma mater, Penn State, which pursued him for its coordinator opening, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
USC already had made Lynn one of the highest-paid coordinators in college football when it hired him away from UCLA in December 2023. That original contract, a person with knowledge of the deal not authorized to speak publicly told The Times at the time, paid Lynn upward of $2 million per year.
The terms of Lynn’s extension were not known, but the move to retain him was a critical one, considering how far the Trojans defense had come during his first season.
Lynn was believed to be a leading candidate for the job at Penn State, where he once played cornerback, after the Nittany Lions’ last defensive coordinator, Tom Allen, took the same job at Clemson. Lynn also was expected to receive interest from NFL teams, given his previous experience as an NFL assistant.
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Instead, he’ll remain at USC, after the school’s leaders moved quickly to secure the prized assistant.
After bottoming out under previous coordinator Alex Grinch, USC gave up 10 fewer points per game under Lynn last season, leaping from 121st in the nation (34.4 per game) to a respectable 56th (24.1). The run defense took a major step forward, giving up nearly 50 yards fewer on the ground per game. There were fewer missed tackles — from 11 on average per game to eight — while USC improved in leaps and bounds on third down and in the red zone.
“You can look at the stats and see a pretty massive difference there,” coach Lincoln Riley said in November. “But I don’t think that tells the whole story. I think D’Anton’s been a really consistent leader.”
While far from elite, the defense that once kept USC out of the College Football Playoff emerged as one of the bright spots of an otherwise up-and-down season. Much of that credit goes to Lynn, who inherited a defense that was down most of its top contributors in the front seven by the midway point of the season.
USC’s best pass rusher, Eric Gentry, was forced to sit out the rest of the season after just five games because of a series of concussions. Defensive end Anthony Lucas suffered an injury that ended his season after seven games, while defensive tackle Bear Alexander, who was expected to step into a major role, left the team after just three weeks with the intention of entering the transfer portal.
USC’s win over LSU showcased how much the Trojans have improved on defense under coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who has rejuvenated the once-beleaguered unit.
Still, Lynn managed to make it work, even as USC struggled to produce much of a pass rush. To counteract those issues, Lynn opted to blitz consistently from the secondary, doing what he could to keep quarterbacks off balance.
USC should be better in that regard in Lynn’s second season, with Gentry returning and two defensive tackles, Jah Jarrett and Keeshawn Silver, transferring from the Southeastern Conference. He’ll have safety Kamari Ramsey returning in the secondary too, after the Trojans’ top defensive back spurned the draft to play for Lynn one more season.
Speculation over Lynn’s potential departure had ramped up in recent days since the Penn State job opened up. USC already lost linebacker coach Matt Entz, safeties coach Taylor Mays and offensive line coach Josh Henson since the season ended just three weeks ago.
But for Lynn, USC was ready to move swiftly, assuring its defense remains headed in the right direction.
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