Penn State Football Loses Out On Top Defensive Coordinator Candidate

With Penn State Football’s defensive coordinator search moving to a fifth day, head coach James Franklin and Penn State have reportedly missed out on a top defensive coordinator candidate.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that former Penn State defensive back D’Anton Lynn agreed to a contract extension with USC after receiving coordinator interest this coaching cycle.

Lynn spent the 2024 season with the USC Trojans as the team’s defensive coordinator and was thought of as a top candidate for Penn State’s open defensive coordinator position. In his one season in Los Angeles, Lynn’s defense ranked 58^th nationally, up 63 places from 121^st in 2023. In 2023, Lynn also transformed the UCLA defense that ranked 92^nd in 2022 to 14^th nationally under his tutelage in 2023.

Lynn has 11 years of coaching experience at both the NFL and college level, spending the past two seasons with the title of defensive coordinator.

A major staple of Lynn’s defense is his rush defense, which ranked 2^nd nationally in 2023 at UCLA (behind only Manny Diaz’s defense at Penn State).

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In his playing career at Penn State, Lynn recorded 159 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, and four interceptions over four years with the Nittany Lions. Lynn was recognized as a three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention at cornerback during his playing career at Penn State.

After his playing career at Penn State, Lynn spent time in both the NFL and CFL as a player before breaking into the coaching field.

With Lynn off the board, James Franklin still has big shoes to fill with the Nittany Lions‘ defensive coordinator search.

Penn State’s defense ranked 8^th nationally in 2024 and 1^st nationally in 2023 under Tom Allen and Manny Diaz, respectively.

Franklin and Penn State will need to pivot to another candidate, possibly an intriguing internal candidate if Penn State wants to reach the lofty expectations set for last season. After a final four appearance in the 2024 college football playoff, Penn State is returning a host of veteran playmakers in 2025 with even higher aspirations.

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Robert Shields

Penn State Football Reporter at NittanyCentral

Robert Shields covers Penn State Football for Nittany Central. As a Penn State graduate, Robert has covered Penn State football since 2019, but had been a fan of the Nittany Lions for well over a decade. During his undergraduate education, Robert was a manager in the athletic department of a division III school, working in various aspects of athletic management at football, soccer, baseball, basketball, and lacrosse games.

Latest posts by Robert Shields (see all)

• Penn State Football Loses Out On Top Defensive Coordinator Candidate - January 17, 2025
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