Penn State officially hires D’Anton Lynn as its new defensive coordinator

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Penn State made the expected hiring of D’Anton Lynn official Friday when it announced that the former Nittany Lions cornerback will be the defensive coordinator for new head coach Matt Campbell.

The 36-year-old Lynn was a three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention pick who appeared in 47 games from 2008-11 and started 37 of his final 38 games. He finished his career with 162 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four interceptions and one fumble recovery.

He has spent the last two seasons as defensive coordinator at USC, where the Trojans held opponents to 24.1 points per game in 2024 and 23.0 in 2025 after allowing 34.4 the season before he arrived there.

This season, USC ranks 49th in total defense, 51st in scoring defense, 47th in passing yards allowed and 58th in rushing defense.

In his only season as defensive coordinator at UCLA in 2023, the Bruins went from 89th in total and scoring defense to 10th in total defense and 14th in scoring defense. They ranked second in the country in rushing defense and 19th in pass defense efficiency.

Since 2023, Lynn ranks fifth among defensive coordinators in fewest yards per completion and red zone rushing touchdowns, eighth in fewest fourth quarter points and 10th in fewest rushing touchdowns per season and red zone TD percentage.

Before he arrived at UCLA, he spent nine seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL with Baltimore, Houston, Buffalo and the Los Angeles Chargers.

In a related matter, Penn State has hired Ikaika Malloe as defensive line coach. Malloe was on the UCLA staff with Lynn in 2023 and coached the defensive line, including end Laitu Latu, who led the nation in tackles for loss (1.8 per game) and was fourth in sacks (1.08).

Latu won the Lombardi Award as the nation’s outstanding lineman or linebacker and the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s outstanding defensive end. The Indianapolis Colts selected him in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Malloe, a native of Hawaii, was on the University of Washington staff from 2016-21 and coached the defensive line, including 2017 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Vita Vea. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Vea in the first round of the 2018 draft.

Malloe began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Washington in 1997 and also has coached at Western Illinois, UTEP, Hawaii, Yale, Portland State and Utah State.

In other news, two assistant coaches on James Franklin’s former Penn State staff are leaving for other jobs.

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has returned to Kansas, where he’ll be the associate head coach for Lance Leipold and where he enjoyed much success from 2021-23. He spent the last two seasons at Penn State with mixed results.

Co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter is going to Tennessee, where he’ll rejoin defensive coordinator Jim Knowles on the Volunteers’ staff.

Poindexter spent the last five seasons at Penn State and coached such safeties as Jaquan Brisker, Ji’Ayir Brown, Jaylen Reed and Kevin Winston Jr. A College Football Hall of Fame inductee, he served as interim defensive coordinator for the Lions’ 22-10 win over Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl.

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