Penn State Hires D'Anton Lynn as Defensive Coordinator

Penn State has hired D'Anton Lynn as its new defensive coordinator, bringing the 36-year-old coach back to his alma mater to join head coach Matt Campbell's staff. The move, first reported Monday, fills the vacancy left by Jon Heacock's recent retirement and marks a homecoming for Lynn, who played cornerback for the Nittany Lions from 2008 to 2011.

Lynn, who earned three-time Big Ten honorable mention honors during his playing days, started 37 of his final 38 games and recorded 162 tackles, seven tackles for loss and four interceptions. A serious injury in his senior year shifted his focus from playing to coaching, leading him to a scouting internship with the New York Jets that launched a nine-year NFL assistant career. He worked with the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers before transitioning to college football in 2023 as UCLA's defensive coordinator.

At UCLA, Lynn overhauled a struggling unit, improving the Bruins from 90th nationally in scoring defense to 14th in his lone season. He then joined USC in 2024, where he engineered a dramatic turnaround for the Trojans' defense. USC allowed 34.4 points per game in 2023 under previous...