Former Indiana Coach Tom Allen Headed To Clemson…

ormer Indiana football head coach Tom Allen is on the move again.

Following one season at Penn State it appears Allen is joining head coach Dabo Swinney’s staff at Clemson, as first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

“Clemson is working toward a deal to hire Penn State DC Tom Allen as the school’s new defensive coordinator,” Thamel reported Monday. “He’s the top target and a final decision is expected in the upcoming days.”

Matt Zenitz of 247Sports also reported that Allen has agreed to become Clemson’s defensive coordinator and a deal is expected to get done.

Indiana fired Allen after the 2023 season, which concluded a 9-27 stretch in his final three seasons coaching the Hoosiers. Allen became Indiana’s full-time head coach in 2017 and had successful seasons in 2019 and 2020, posting 8-5 and 6-2 records, respectively, with two bowl game appearances.

When Allen’s time at Indiana was over, Penn State immediately hired him to become its defensive coordinator. Allen helped the Nittany Lions go 13-3 and reach the Big Ten championship game before losing to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Under Allen, Penn State’s defense ranked eighth in scoring, seventh in total defense, 31st in pass defense and ninth in run defense. Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter was named Big Ten defensive player of the year.

Prior to his time at Penn State and Indiana, Allen was the defensive coordinator at South Florida. His previous stops include assistant coaching positions at Ole Miss, Arkansas State, Drake, Lambuth, Wabash, Ben Davis High School, Marion High School, Armwood High School and Temple Heights High School. Allen, 54, is originally from New Castle Ind., and attended Maranatha Baptist University.

As Penn State prepared for its College Football Playoff game against Notre Dame, Allen shared his thoughts on Indiana going 11-2 the season after he left.

“So happy for the players, man,” Allen said. “A lot of those guys came there, and they got a chance to truly see through the things that we tried to be able to start to do. So yeah, very happy for those players and very happy for the guys in that situation, it’s awesome.”

Allen said he’s kept in touch with some of his former players during Indiana’s historic 2024 season.

“Those guys, there’s no question I’ve had communication with the guys that I coached there and they obviously played in the first round of the playoffs,” Allen said. “So yeah, I just talked to one of them yesterday. But the bottom line is that when you coach the guys and you invest in them and you get to know them and you bring them into your program, you’re never gonna stop being a part of their lives, and that’ll be forever for me and that’s how I coach and that’s how I want it to be.”