The coaching carousel goes well beyond just head coaches. Now, staffs are being filled out around the country. That includes at some major programs, like Penn State. There, it’s been rumored that the Nittany Lions could have interest in USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.
The hope for USC and head coach Lincoln Riley is, of course, that the Trojans can retain Lynn. However, for the time being, he has to maintain a wait and see attitude.
“No, I don’t have an update,” Lincoln Riley said. “This is just what happens this time of year, especially when you have a really good staff, and are doing a lot of really positive things. This is part of what happens. So, we’ve seen it, we understand it. We’ll obviously see how it plays out.”
The Penn State coaching staff is getting a major shakeup this season after James Franklin was fired midseason and eventually replaced by Matt Campbell. Now, he’s trying to put his stamp on the program’s staff and replace Jim Knowles. If that does turn out to be D’Anton Lynn, it would likely send ripples through the Big Ten.
Considered an up and coming coach, Lynn played defensive back at Penn State from 2008 through 2011. Those were the final years of the Joe Paterno era. By 2014, Lynn got into coaching as an NFL assistant. Then, in 2023, he made the jump to coaching as the defensive coordinator at UCLA and later USC.
“We’ve put ourselves in position here, where, we’re excited about the opportunity to keep continuity and continue to build. But we’re, honestly, at that point where — no just that position, any position — if there is turnover, these are really coveted jobs. This job is, frankly, different than it was four years ago,” Riley said. “And it’s a lot different than it was two years ago for any job, not just that job. It’s just part of the world we live in and hopefully we can keep as much continuity as we can but if we have to make any replacements, then we’re going to try to do what we’ve done. Do it at a high level and find ways to make our program even better.”
Penn State has made it clear that the Nittany Lions are ready to put up big investments in their assistant coaches. Knowles was making $3.1 annually as the team’s defensive coordinator a season ago. It was reported that Penn State would also be committing $17 million to its assistant staff salary pool.
The fact that it’s Penn State Lynn is being rumored with doesn’t change how Riley views the situation. This is just a standard reality in the industry. So, he’ll have to deal with it if that move gets made.
“Not really,” Riley said. “Those things are what they are. Everybody prioritizes different things. So, that’s why, you know, I don’t judge that. I get it. But again, look at last year. Penn State hired the D-coordinator from the team that won the national championship. These things happen. Obviously, D’Anton has done a really good job here, and we’ll see how it plays out.”
For now, USC is still working on bowl preparation on top of these possible staff changes. On December 30th, the Trojans will take on TCU in the Alamo Bowl.