Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543434
M A R C H 2 0 2 6 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M M att Campbell is not the first Penn State head football coach who hoped to per- suade D'Anton Lynn to re- join his alma mater. However, he is the first to succeed. Lynn, a former All-Big Ten corner- back for the Nittany Lions, is entering his fourth season as a play-caller at the college level. After watching from afar as Lynn went to work improving the strug- gling defenses he inherited at UCLA and USC, James Franklin eyed him as a potential coordinator. The Lions found themselves with openings after the 2023 and '24 seasons, but for one reason or another, Lynn decided to remain in Los Angeles. Enter Campbell. Hired in early Decem- ber to succeed Franklin, the former Iowa State head coach knew that his longtime defensive coordinator with the Cyclones, Jon Heacock, was mulling retirement after the 2025 season. When that pos- sibility became a reality, Campbell had to find someone new to lead his defensive staff. Lynn, who had spent the 2023 sea- son with the Bruins before moving across town to oversee the Trojans' defense the past two years, was the first name that came to mind. There was a natural connection, with Lynn having played in the Nittany Lions' defensive backfield during the final years of the Joe Paterno era. And yet, it wasn't easy to bring him on board. One of the biggest impediments was the substantial buyout that would be owed to USC if Lynn were to leave for an- other Big Ten program. Campbell alluded to that negotiation when he introduced the new staff at a Feb. 4 news conference, explaining that Lynn had to "financially give up some things to get here." "[For him] to come here with purpose and integrity, I don't know if I could be any more excited to be able to lead with him," Campbell added. Beyond that, Lynn and his wife, Court- ney, have three young children, and her roots are on the West Coast. After a lengthy back-and-forth, all parties de- cided that they were a good fit for each other. On Jan. 2, Penn State named Lynn as its new defensive coordinator. For the Ce- lina, Texas, native, the son of longtime NFL coach Anthony Lynn and a veteran assis- tant who had stints with five pro teams before returning to the college game, it was a gratifying if difficult decision. "Me and my wife felt like, at this point in my life, every decision I make has to be a family choice," Lynn said. "And this time around, we just felt like we were prepared to take this step. For me, obviously, I've lived everywhere. For her, she's from L.A. She went to college in Hawai'i. She moved back to L.A., and we have three kids under 3. She has a lot of help and support out there, but she's super excited to come out here and be a part of the community here. "The more I talked with Coach Camp- bell, and the more I talked with her, we both felt like it's time for us to take this step. There was a little bit of hesitation at first, but as we got deeper into the conver- sations, she was super excited and sup- portive." Opening The Door Lynn said that when Campbell first ex- pressed interest in bringing him back to Penn State, the inquiry came "out of the blue." Even so, it wasn't exactly a cold call. The Nittany Lions' new safeties coach, Deon Broomfield, had known Lynn from their time together on the Houston Tex- ans' staff in 2020. The staff was disbanded after the Texans went 4-12 that year, and Broomfield headed to Iowa State, while Lynn was hired by the Baltimore Ravens to coach their safeties. Although they were only together for one season in Houston, Lynn said it "was just obvious that [Broomfield] was going to be an outstanding coach." The two as- sistants stayed in touch after that season, and when Broomfield followed Campbell to State College, he helped initiate the conversations with Lynn. Broomfield said he saw Lynn as a per- fect fit for the program that Campbell is THE LYNN FILE PERSONAL Hometown: Celina, Texas Education: Penn State, 2012 Family: Wife, Courtney; Daughter Remi; Sons Anthony, Lonnie COACHING CAREER 2026-present: Penn State (defensive coordinator) 2024-25: USC (defensive coordinator) 2023: UCLA (defensive coordinator) 2021-22: Baltimore Ravens (safeties) 2020: Houston Texans (secondary) 2018-19: Houston Texans (assistant secondary) 2017: Los Angeles Chargers (defensive assistant) 2015-16: Buffalo Bills (defensive as- sistant) 2014: New York Jets (coaching intern) PLAYING CAREER 2008-11: Penn State