Tom Allen and D'Anton Lynn are part of a fascinating Penn State-USC storyline

When Penn State and USC meet on the football field this October, they will both have new defensive coordinators. Tom Allen is the new man for the Nittany Lions, while D’Anton Lynn is the new defensive guru for the Trojans. The two men might be able to share some stories about the similarities in how they are perceived by the PSU and USC fan bases.

Penn State fans were really high on D’Anton Lynn as a possible replacement for previous defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who left the Nittany Lions to take over as the head coach at Duke. We at Trojans Wire were high on Tom Allen as a possible Alex Grinch replacement. Yet, Allen went to PSU and not USC. Lynn went to USC and not PSU. Both fan bases would have been really happy with having one of these two as defensive coordinator, but they went to the other school. This is a battle of equals at defensive coordinator.

We wrote about Allen in November, before Lincoln Riley hired Lynn at USC:

Allen is a very good defensive coordinator. He isn’t a good head coach, but if he gets USC-level talent, he will do a very good job with it. Having Big Ten knowledge is a huge plus for USC, given the school’s move into the Big Ten. If it can’t get Jim Leonhard, Tom Allen is a strong second choice. He’s going to be available. He’s not likely to be in the market for another head coaching job. USC needs to be on the phone with Allen’s agent before too long.

Penn State and USC both did as well as they reasonably could have in finding new defensive coordinators. This fall, they will measure themselves against each other. It should be a lot of fun to watch.

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