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D'Anton Lynn

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D'Anton Lynn
refer to caption
Lynn in 2024
USC Trojans
Position:Defensive coordinator
Personal information
Born: (1989-10-24) October 24, 1989 (age 35)
Plano, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:Celina (Celina, Texas)
College:Penn State
Undrafted:2012
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:

Anthony Ray "D'Anton" Lynn II[1] (born October 24, 1989)[2] is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the USC Trojans of the Big Ten Conference (NCAA). He was previously the defensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins.

Lynn played college football as a cornerback for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets in 2012. He became an assistant coach with the Jets, Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers before becoming the secondary coach for the Houston Texans. Lynn then served as the defensive backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 2021 before being elevated in 2022 to their safeties coach. He became the UCLA defensive coordinator in 2023, leaving for USC after the regular season.

Playing career

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High school

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Lynn attended Celina High School in Celina, Texas. Lynn also played defensive back, linebacker, quarterback, running back and wide receiver at Celina High School.[2] He was selected for the Associated Press Class 3A first-team all-state.[2]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
D'Anton Lynn
Safety 		Celina, Texas Celina High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 4.48 Nov 10, 2007 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 15 (S)   Rivals: 29 (Safety), 51 (TX)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Penn State Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  • "2008 Penn State Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  • "2008 Penn State Nittany Lions commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  • "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 21, 2020.

College

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Lynn played four seasons as a cornerback at Pennsylvania State University.[2] During his tenure with the Nittany Lions, he recorded 162 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery.[3] He received honorable mention three times for the All-Big Ten team.[4]

In his freshman year, on October 11, 2008, he just had 2 tackles against Wisconsin and Penn State won 48-7.[5] As a sophomore, he won the starting cornerback position.[2] On October 31, 2009, he recorded 8 tackles against Northwestern as Penn State won 34-13.[6]

In his junior year, Lynn started every single game at cornerback.[2] He finished the season with 75 tackles, 3 interceptions and 7 passes defensed.[7] On September 11, 2010, he recorded 5 tackles in a loss to No. 1 ranked Alabama by the score of 24-3.[8] The next game on September 18, 2010, he had 2 tackles and an interception against Kent State and Penn State won 24-0.[9] On October 23, 2010, he record 10 tackles, one interception and 2 passes defended against Minnesota and Penn State won 33-21.[10]

National Football League

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2012 NFL Combine

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0 in
(1.83 m) 		206 lb
(93 kg) 		29+3⁄4 in
(0.76 m) 		8+1⁄2 in
(0.22 m)		 4.77 s 31.5 in
(0.80 m)		 111 ft 0 in
(33.83 m)		 17.0 reps
All values from the NFL Combine[11]

New York Jets

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On April 29, 2012, Lynn signed with New York Jets as an undrafted free agent and reuniting him with his father Anthony Lynn who was at the time the Jets running backs coach.[12] On August 31, 2012, he was released.[13]

Canadian Football League

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Hamilton Tiger Cats

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On May 24, 2013, Lynn signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.[14] On June 2, 2013, Lynn was released.[15]

Coaching career

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New York Jets

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In 2014, Lynn served as a seasonal intern for the New York Jets, after serving in the team's scouting department in 2013.

Buffalo Bills

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On January 26, 2015, Lynn was hired by the Buffalo Bills as a defensive assistant.[16]

Los Angeles Chargers

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On February 2, 2017, Lynn was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers as a defensive assistant.[1]

Houston Texans

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On February 7, 2018, Lynn was hired by the Houston Texans as their assistant defensive backs coach under head coach Bill O’Brien.[17] On January 29, 2020, Lynn was promoted to the team's secondary coach.

Baltimore Ravens

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On January 24, 2021, Lynn was hired by the Baltimore Ravens as their defensive backs coach under defensive coordinator Don Martindale and head coach John Harbaugh.[18]

On January 20, 2022, Lynn was selected as head coach of the East squad in the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl held in Las Vegas.

UCLA Bruins

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On February 27, 2023, Lynn was hired by UCLA to become their defensive coordinator, replacing Bill McGovern.[4] Lynn's two-year contract at $1.02 million per year was the richest in the program's history for an assistant at his position.[19] He inherited a defense that finished the past five seasons Nos. 86, 70, 69, 113 and 102 in the nation in total defense. Under Lynn in 2023, the Bruins defense improved to No. 11 in the regular season, allowing just 299 yards per game.[19] It was fewest yards allowed in the Pac-12 Conference, and they also surrendered the second-fewest points. On November 18 against their crosstown rivals, USC, the Bruins won 38–20, with the defense holding the Trojans to their lowest scoring output of the season along with three yards rushing, USC's worst ground performance since 2018.[19]

USC Trojans

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On December 1, 2023, USC hired Lynn as their defensive coordinator after having fired their previous coordinator, Alex Grinch, midseason on November 5.[19] Lynn left UCLA before they were invited to the LA Bowl.[20]

Personal life

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Lynn is the son of former Los Angeles Chargers head coach, and current Washington Commanders run game coordinator/running backs coach, Anthony Lynn.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b Reeve, Will Jr. (February 9, 2017). "Los Angeles Chargers: Anthony Lynn hires son as defensive assistant". Chargers Wire. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "D'Anton Lynn". gopsusports.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2017.
  3. ^ "D'Anton Lynn Statistics". sports-reference.com. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Williams, James H. (February 28, 2023). "UCLA hires D'Anton Lynn as defensive coordinator, Bill McGovern remains on staff". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  5. ^ "(6) Penn State 48, Wisconsin 7 Box Score". sports-reference.com. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  6. ^ "(12) Penn State 34, Northwestern 13 Box Score". sports-reference.com/. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  7. ^ "2010 Penn State Nittany Lions Statistics". sports-reference.com/. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  8. ^ "(18) Penn State 3, (1) Alabama 24 Box Score". sports-reference.com/. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  9. ^ "Kent State 0, (22) Penn State 24 Box Score". sports-reference.com/. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  10. ^ "Penn State 33, Minnesota 21 Box Score". sports-reference.com/. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  11. ^ D'Anton Lynn NFL Combine profile
  12. ^ Rich Cimini (April 29, 2012). "Jets sign D'Anton Lynn, son of RBs coach". ESPN New York.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  13. ^ "Jets make early cuts, including some family connections". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  14. ^ "Tiger-Cats Sign Six, Release Two". oursportscentral.com. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  15. ^ "CFL Transactions". cfl.ca. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014.
  16. ^ "Bills hire six new assistant coaches, retain four". buffalobills.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  17. ^ "Texans hire D'Anton Lynn as assistant defensive backs coach". chron.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  18. ^ Brown, Clifton (January 24, 2021). "Ravens Add D'Anton Lynn As Defensive Backs Coach". www.baltimoreravens.com. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  19. ^ a b c d Nguyen, Thuc Nhi; Bolch, Ben; Kartje, Ryan (December 1, 2023). "Crosstown move: USC hires UCLA's D'Anton Lynn as its defensive coordinator". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  20. ^ Bolch, Ben (December 3, 2023). "UCLA to play Boise State in L.A. Bowl at SoFi Stadium as Chip Kelly forges ahead". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  21. ^ "Los Angeles Chargers: Anthony Lynn hires son as defensive assistant". Chargers Wire. February 9, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
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