Penn State announced on Tuesday afternoon that it has officially hired Tom Allen as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
Allen spent the previous seven seasons as the head coach at Indiana and will replace former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who left Penn State after two seasons for the head coaching job at Duke. Both Diaz and now Allen headed to Penn State after being relieved of their duties as head coach of their previous programs.
“I have always had a ton of respect for Tom Allen, and we are excited to welcome him to our staff,” Penn State coach James Franklin said in a press release. “I’ve enjoyed following his coaching career and his experience as a head coach and defensive play caller will bring tremendous value to our program. Coach Allen has led aggressive and attacking style defenses that will complement what we have already established. We are looking forward to welcoming Tom, his wife Tracy, son Thomas, and daughters Hannah and Brittney to Happy Valley.”
“I am thrilled for this opportunity with Penn State Football and want to thank Coach Franklin and [Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Patrick] Kraft for believing in me,” Allen said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Franklin and having been across the sidelines from him, I’ve seen what he is building here. To be trusted to join this storied program has me fired up, and I can’t wait to get to work alongside this coaching staff, these student-athletes and to immerse myself in the Happy Valley community.”
Allen heads to Penn State after spending the last eight years at Indiana, with seven seasons (2017-23) as Indiana’s head coach and one as the Hoosiers’ defensive coordinator. While often not nationally elite in some areas, in his eight-years with the Hoosiers, Indiana was ranked in the top five in the Big Ten on third down in five seasons and in the top 15 nationally twice. The Hoosiers ranked sixth in the Big Ten in third down defense (36.6%) during the eight-year span. Allen will work with his most talented defensive roster of his career by a wide margin while Penn State.
Prior to his tenure at Indiana, Allen’s three decade coaching career included stops as the defensive coordinator at South Florida in 2015 and linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Ole Miss from 2012-14. During his season at South Florida, the Bulls led the AAC in scoring defense and finished in the top 25 nationally in tackles for loss, interceptions and forced turnovers.
Franklin is scheduled to speak with the media on Wednesday afternoon for National Signing Day.
