USC hires UCLA’s D’Anton Lynn as defensive coordinator

The Trojans poach a major face from their cross-town rival in the type of all-in move that could completely turn the tides of a program coming off a disappointing season

Luca Evans (OC Register)  —  LOS ANGELES — With growing smoke around USC’s future, the program going down in flames after a disastrous 7-5 season in Coach Lincoln Riley’s second year, the first fire to extinguish was a looming question mark at defensive coordinator.

And for two weeks, flames burned, the fan base’s confusion increasing as the clock slowly ticked toward the transfer portal’s opening this coming Monday. But patience paid dividends – as a complete bombshell dropped, ironically, directly as the Pac-12 championship game got underway.

On Friday evening, news broke that USC hired D’Anton Lynn away from UCLA, a home run hire hugely impactful for USC’s present and future and the type of all-in move that could completely turn the tides of a program coming off a disappointing season. The school announced the hiring a few hours later, and a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed Lynn’s deal has been signed. Lynn’s contract at UCLA was worth $1.02 million; the source confirmed Lynn signed a more lucrative deal with USC.

“We are thrilled to welcome D’Anton and his family to USC,” Riley said in a statement Friday night. “We simply couldn’t ask for a better addition to our staff. His successful experiences in both college and the NFL make him the perfect fit for our program.”

It’s a hire that adds credibility to Riley’s emphatic statements about USC’s commitment to defense in early November, a day after the firing of coordinator Alex Grinch, who had hopped on the plane with Riley from Oklahoma to Southern California and had been the butt of criticism for two years over consistently underwhelming units. Riley’s faith in Grinch, starting his second and potentially last season with Caleb Williams at quarterback, was admirable at the time, but misplaced in hindsight – promoting staffers Shaun Nua and Brian Odom to co-interim coordinator came too late, and USC was steamrolled by both Oregon and UCLA in consecutive losses to end the year.

“I have complete belief and conviction, we will play great defense here,” Riley said, after Grinch’s firing. “It is going to happen.”

The Bruins finished eighth nationally in yards per play allowed (4.55) and 16th in scoring defense (18.1 ppg) and held USC to 3 rushing yards, posted four sacks and forced two turnovers in a 38-20 victory over the Trojans last month. Lynn got elite performances, in particular, out of members of UCLA’s secondary like Alex Johnson and John Humphrey, a welcome sign for a USC cornerback group that too often was torched for explosive plays this past season. He was named a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, honoring college football’s top assistant coaches, for his efforts.

“He’s really poised, he’s very detailed, he has a plan and has really gotten our guys to execute the plan,” Kelly said Nov. 15. “He’s really moved this defense in a real positive direction, and I think his way about him, how he teaches in the meeting rooms, how he meets and what he does in one-on-ones, how he communicates what he wants done – I think he’s outstanding.”

The question, now, is whether Lynn will have the talent to mold an elite defense for USC in 2024, and whether success will carry over against a Big Ten schedule. He comes from a natural background in the conference, a four-year player at Penn State; but the Trojans’ incoming defensive freshman class is fairly weak, and it’s fair to wonder whether the length of the search will cost USC when it comes to elite transfer portal players who already announced their decision to change schools.

“I’m not gonna sacrifice anything for getting the right person,” Riley said of the recruiting window in early November. “That’s the most important thing, because these are decisions that have a long-ranging impact on our program, and it’s a decision you don’t make lightly in the first place.”

For UCLA, it’s a crippling blow to a rapidly-collapsing program, with vitriol over Kelly’s job security and a recent announcement from highly-touted freshman quarterback Dante Moore that he was hitting the transfer portal. The announcement appeared to blindside a host of UCLA players – take William Nimmo Jr.’s tweet “Wow…” or Kamari Ramsey and Kain Medrano’s exploding head emojis.

For USC, however, it’s a hire that can galvanize donors who were altogether unhappy with the defense’s performance under Grinch. There is plenty for Lynn to prove – a glittering defensive resume was built in part by a cushy schedule against weak units, and the Bruins gave up 33 points to Cal and 36 to Oregon State – but on basic principles, his arrival sparkles. USC gave up the 17th-most rushing yards of 133 FBS schools; UCLA gave up the second-fewest, holding opponents to a stifling 2.3 yards per carry.

USC doesn’t have defensive line talent like Laiatu Latu or the Murphy twins, to be sure. But promising defensive tackle Bear Alexander returns – dropping a “Welcome let’s get it coach” on social media – and USC has already extended a transfer portal offer to former University of Pennsylvania defensive tackle Joey Slackman.

A new era of USC’s defense is underway.

ocregister.com

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