Penn State is bringing one of its own back to Happy Valley - and this time, he’s calling the shots on defense.
The Nittany Lions have hired USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn to take over the same role in James Franklin’s staff, according to multiple reports. Lynn, a former standout cornerback at Penn State, returns to his alma mater with a strong coaching résumé and a reputation for developing tough, disciplined defenses.
This isn’t Lynn’s first brush with the Penn State DC job. He was in the mix last offseason but ultimately chose to stay at USC.
Franklin pivoted and brought in Jim Knowles from Ohio State, but the 2025 campaign didn’t unfold the way the program had hoped. Knowles is now headed to Tennessee, and Franklin gets a second shot at landing his original target.
Lynn’s coaching journey has been a steady climb. After several years as a secondary coach in the NFL - working with five different organizations - he made the jump to the college ranks in 2023.
He quickly made an impact at UCLA, where he spent one season as defensive coordinator before heading across town to USC. Over the past two years with the Trojans, Lynn helped stabilize a unit that had struggled in previous seasons, bringing an NFL-caliber edge to the college game.
As a player, Lynn was a three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention at cornerback for the Nittany Lions. He went undrafted but had short stints with the New York Jets and the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats before turning his focus to coaching.
Now, he returns to State College with both the pedigree and experience to reshape Penn State’s defense. Lynn is expected to bring the same aggressive, detail-oriented approach that defined his units at UCLA and USC - a style that should resonate with a Penn State program looking to reestablish itself as a defensive powerhouse in the Big Ten.
Before he officially begins his second chapter in blue and white, Lynn still has one more game to coach for USC. He’ll be on the sidelines for the Trojans tonight as they take on TCU in the Alamo Bowl.
Once that’s in the books, all eyes will shift to how Lynn puts his stamp on Penn State’s defense - and whether his homecoming can spark a new era for the Nittany Lions.