UCLA hires Ravens safeties coach D’Anton Lynn for defensive coordinator

As the offseason continues to move, more members of the Ravens coaching staff could be plucked up by other teams. This is nothing new, as the Ravens are seen as a stable organization and usually have many sought-after coaches for different roles.

This time, it’s their current safeties coach, D’Anton Lynn. UCLA has finalized a deal to make Lynn their new defensive coordinator.

Lynn is young gun in the NFL, a 33 year-old who has been regarded highly wherever he’s gone in his coaching career. He joined the Ravens in 2021 as the defensive backs coach and was moved to safeties before 2022. Between 2014 and 2020 he bounced between the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans, moving up in ranks at each spot before being poached by other teams. He was also a three-time honorable mention All-Big Ten selection when he played cornerback at Penn State, and is the son of defensive mind Anthony Lynn.

While this is a loss for the Ravens, it is an opportunity for defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to continue to shape his defensive staff. Safeties were a big part of Macdonald’s scheme last season and continued high play from them is expected.

Besides the additions of inside linebacker coach Zachary Orr and outside linebacker coach Rob Leonard, Mike Macdonald specifically brought over Ryan Osborn from Michigan in 2022 in a defensive quality control position. The Ravens lost Osborn after the 2022 season to the Charlotte 49ers in January.