UCLA Football: Bruins Losing Best Assistant Coach To USC

Did not see this coming...

Well, raise your hand if you had UCLA Bruins defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn being poached by the rival USC Trojans.

Because I sure didn't...

But that is exactly what just happened and now the Bruins are left having to search for a new coordinator themselves. Lynn revitalized the Bruins defense this past season, going from number 89 in total defense a year ago to number 11. That is quite the turnaround, and it's all for nothing.

Peter Thamel of ESPN reports the move:

Sources: USC is finalizing a deal to hire UCLA defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. UCLA finished No. 11 in total defense in his first year there this season, an improvement from No. 89 the year before. pic.twitter.com/habw0PtNgg

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 2, 2023

The Bruins ended their season on a very sour note, with a 33-7 blowout loss to Cal, and now this happens. It has been a very rough few weeks for Bruins fans, and losing Lynn to USC stings.

With the Bruins about to enter the Big Ten Conference, this really hurts them. Lynn brought this defense back to relevance, and now he heads to the campus across town. 

Not only does this make UCLA even weaker, but this makes the Trojans stronger. For years they have been awful defensively, and now Lynn is poised to help them, just like he helped the Bruins this past year.

The Bruins needed to do everything in their power to retain Lynn but they simply failed. This is on head coach Chip Kelly, and the calls for his job are going to continue to grow with this news coming out.

Fans haven't been happy about the way Kelly has gone about everything within the program, and this certainly won't help. Kelly could still be fired this offseason, but it seems that he will stay with the team, at least for another year.

The Bruins will now need to re-group and go find themselves a good defensive coordinator to replace Lynn. But seeing him on the USC sidelines next season is going to be a very tough sight for all fans.

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