2025 was a disastrous season for Penn State football. The Nittany Lions came into the year with massive expectations, with fans expecting a run to the College Football Playoff. After all, Penn State returned a large part of a core that went all the way to the semifinals in 2024, coming within a few plays of playing for a national title.
Instead, things went downhill very quickly for Penn State after starting the season 3-0. A crushing loss in overtime to Oregon started a downward spiral that ended at six losses in a row and included the shocking firing of head coach James Franklin.
After a long coaching search, Penn State eventually landed on former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell as the next man to lead the program. Now, he is closing in on his next defensive coordinator. Campbell and Penn State are targeting current USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn to be the next DC in Happy Valley, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports.
Lynn has some connection to Penn State as a former player for the Nittany Lions from 2008-11, where he played defensive back. He went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft but has really made his mark in the college ranks as a coach.
After spending a long time as an NFL assistant, Lynn became the defensive coordinator at UCLA back in 2023 and led a top-15 defense with the Bruins. He then made the jump across town to USC, where he took over a porous unit under Lincoln Riley and greatly improved it in 2024 and 2025.
Penn State added former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles in 2025, but things didn't go as planned during the six-game losing streak midseason. When the year came to a close, Knowles left Happy Valley to go take the same position at Tennessee, leaving Campbell looking for a new man to lead his defense in his first season at Penn State.
Based on his past track record, Lynn would be a home run hire. He would be working with much more talent on defense at Penn State than he had at UCLA or USC, which could have the Nittany Lions back in the ranks of the elite in 2026.
