USC football is locking in one pivotal member of the Trojans' coaching staff. D'Anton Lynn is staying in Los Angeles, after agreeing to a new deal.
The school locked in the defensive coordinator through a new contract extension Thursday, per ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel. Lynn received coordinator interest from other programs during the coaching hiring cycle according to Thamel.
Lynn's name got attached to Penn State's most recent defensive coordinator opening, via Tyler Donahue of 247Sports. Lynn played defensive back for the Nittany Lions. Penn State lost Tom Allen to the same position at Clemson on Monday.
It's not known if Lynn became targeted by other prominent defensive coordinator openings. The only other major opening belonged to Miami (FL), which fired Lance Guidry after the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The Hurricanes have since hired Corey Hetherman away from Minnesota to fill the vacancy.
How USC defense improved under D'Anton Lynn

Lynn first trekked to USC by leaving a rival. He previously ran the defense at UCLA. Lincoln Riley managed to pilfer him from Westwood ahead of the 2024 season.
Lynn placed UCLA in a better position defensively. The Bruins skyrocketed to 11th overall in 2023. His defense surrendered under 300 total yards a game. But his stay in Westwood became short-lived.
Lynn replaced Alex Grinch at USC the following season. And the Trojans witnessed improved marks in multiple areas. USC ranked seventh in average takeaways among Big 10 Conference teams. The Trojans also sliced their average points allowed to 24.1 per game — ranking 57th in the nation. That became a significant jump from their 121st rank in scoring defense.
Lynn's unit equally became stout on third downs. Opposing offenses only converted 33.53% of their third downs facing USC's defense. Lastly, nine different defenders grabbed at least one interception under Lynn.