Tom Allen Explains His Decision to Leave Penn State for Clemson…

Tom Allen wore a weary smile in Penn State’s locker room after the Orange Bowl as he surveyed a silent, still group of players hurting over the Nittany Lions’ 27-24 loss to Notre Dame. Penn State’s defensive coordinator, at least for that moment, tried to find context.

“[They] were part of a special, special group,” Allen said. “It’s easy to lose sight of that right now. No one wants to hear that right now [after the loss to Notre Dame]. There’s a lot of hurting guys in this locker room, and rightly so. But I want them to be remembered as one of the best defenses in the country and one of the best defenses in Penn State history. They gave it all to the final whistle.”

That was a Thursday. A day later, Allen was talkling with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney about becoming the program’s next defensive coordinator. This week, Clemson made it official, and Allen explained his decision to leave Penn State after one season. It was his family. “Faith and family is a big deal to me,” Allen said during his introductory press conference at Clemson.

“Our two daughters actually both live in the Carolinas,” Allen said. “Brittany lives down the road here [in South Carolina], … and Hannah lives in North Carolina and she’s expecting our second grandchild here in about 30 days. So the chance to have our two girls close by and [son] Thomas here with us and his little son … so family means a lot to me, and my wife has made some amazing sacrifices over the years for me to pursue the dream that I’ve put my heart in to coach football at this level.

Excuse my voice,” Allen added, “I’ve been yeling here recently. I talk fast and I yell a lot. But the bottom line is, we’re all thankful for this opportunity.”

In his one season with Penn State, Allen worked with son Thomas, who was a defensive analyst and analytics coordinator. Thomas Allen will join his father’s defensive staff at Clemson as well. But Allen, who spent seven seasons as Indiana’s head coach before joining Penn State’s staff, said he wanted to bring his entire family closer together. Swinney offered that opportunity at Clemson.

Swinney said that Allen would not entertain conversations until after Penn State’s season ended. That was at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9. Swinney said he respected Allen’s decision to put off their interview until the next day.