Tag: Lynn

Reports: Penn State hiring USC DC D’Anton Lynn

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Penn State is finalizing a deal with Southern California defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn for the same position, multiple outlets reported Monday.

Lynn, 36, played cornerback for the Nittany Lions from 2008-11 and is joining new head coach Matt Campbell’s staff after two seasons with the Trojans.

Campbell’s longtime defensive coordinator at Iowa State, Jon Heacock, recently announced his retirement.

Lynn coached in the NFL for nearly a decade before moving to the college ranks as the UCLA defensive coordinator in 2023. The Bruins improved from 90th in scoring defense to 14th under his watch.

At USC, he took over a defense that finished 121st in scoring defense and finished 56th in 2024 and 48th in 2025.

He coached the safeties for the Baltimore Ravens from 2021-22 and coached the secondary of the Houston Texans from 2018-20. He was a defensive assistant with the Los Angeles Chargers (2017) and Buffalo Bills (2015-16).

Former Penn State head coach James Franklin made overtures to hire Lynn last offseason but he opted to sign an extension with Southern Cal.

–Field Level Media

Dec 27, 2020; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn looks on from the sidelines against the Denver Broncos during the fourth quarter at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Lynn fired by Chargers with 33-31 record

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Anthony Lynn was fired after four seasons as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Lynn, who posted a 33-31 overall record, and the Chargers went 7-9 in 2020. Prior to the season, Lynn signed a one-year contract extension.

“This morning I informed Anthony Lynn that we have made the decision to part ways with him as our head coach. I’m not sure there is another person in this league more respected as a human being than Anthony, and I want to sincerely express my deepest gratitude for his leadership during a time of great change for our organization,” Chargers owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. “As we all know, this is a results-driven business and, simply put, the results of the past two years have fallen short of expectations. Moving forward, we will redouble our efforts to both build and maintain a championship-caliber program.”

Lynn was hired in 2017 after ending the 2016 season as the interim head coach of the Buffalo Bills.

The Chargers reached the playoffs in 2018 with a 12-4 record and won the wildcard-round game against the Baltimore Ravens before losing to the New England Patriots.

In nine of the past 11 seasons, the Chargers have missed the postseason.

–Field Level Media