Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514597
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 3 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M "I look forward to just focusing on be- ing the best defensive coordinator I can possibly be," he said. "I talked to James about this, and he asked me about tran- sitioning back, and I'm actually pretty excited about it. There are a lot of things you have to do as a head coach that aren't as enjoyable. I love coaching football and impacting the lives of the players." Allen brings an extensive background to PSU as a defensive coach. Before re- placing Kevin Wilson as head coach at Indiana in 2017, he was the team's de- fensive coordinator for a season and en- gineered the biggest turnaround in the country that year, with the Hoosiers al- lowing 169.4 fewer yards per game than they had in 2015. Prior to his tenure in Bloomington, Allen served as a defen- sive assistant at Wabash (Division III), Lambuth (Division II), Drake, Ole Miss and South Florida. At his Penn State introduction, Allen said he will be aiming to build on what the Nittany Lions have already accomplished on defense during the Franklin era. He has some long-held beliefs about what his defenses should prioritize, and his views align with what the Lions were doing un- der Diaz and his predecessor, Brent Pry. "It's about takeaways, tackling and effort," Allen said. "We're going to in- stall those three things. That's our DNA every day: takeaways, tackling and ef- fort. Within that, we're going to be an aggressive, attacking defense. "I think one thing we've been known for is just being able to do a really good job of disguising things, and making that quarterback have to really process when the ball gets snapped. We take a lot of pride in that. "There are a lot of similarities to even when Pry was here, and the same thing with Manny. There are a lot of similari- ties in the way we think, believe, and do things. To me, it's about letting your guys play fast, very physical, and we just want to attack. I want guys to play free." It's Not About The Money One of the big questions that Allen faced at his introduction was a simple one: Why would he want to jump right back into the coaching grind? He was due a buyout of more than $15 million after Indiana dismissed him following a 3-9 finish in 2023 that dropped his career record to 33-49. Allen said his decision to step right back into coaching was driven by a love of the day-to-day process of molding college players. The money, he said, is not what keeps him going. "I'm a football coach. I just love what I do, and this opportunity presenting itself in this timeframe is one that I im- mediately had an interest in," he said. "For me, I really expected to get back into it. … I have so much respect for this program and for Coach Franklin and what he's built here." That feeling is mutual. Franklin had been impressed with Allen from their time as Big Ten competitors, and the positive impressions carried over into their discussions about the Lions' de- fensive coordinator job. Franklin said that over time, head coaches often become less conversant in the specifics of offense or defense due to the wide-ranging demands of their job. But in his conversations with Allen, Franklin said it became clear that the veteran coach hadn't lost any of his affinity for defensive schematics. "When you become the head coach, some guys get pulled in so many dif- ferent directions that you're not really having the impact you'd like to have," Franklin said. "That's natural when this job requires you to be a CEO. There are some guys who have been able to be the head coach and offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator, but not many. "When you get with Tom and start talking ball, is he one of these guys that's been removed from some of those things and is rusty from being away? It was really apparent very early on to me [that he wasn't]. This is a football guy who is still heavily involved in what's going on from a scheme and fundamen- tal perspective. That was obvious." During Allen's time in Bloomington, the Hoosiers ran a 4-2-5 system that fea- tured some 4-3 looks as well. It included a player known as the "Husky," a line- backer/safety hybrid akin to the "Star" that Penn State used when Pry was in charge of the defense. Writer Taylor Lehman of the Indiana-focused online newsletter Bite-Sized Bison explained that the Husky typically lacks the ball skills of a free safety but is slightly bigger and is a better pass rusher. "The Husky position is difficult to ex- ecute, both in scheme and on the field," Lehman noted. "The position, regard- 2024 LOOK AHEAD THE TOM ALLEN FILE PERSONAL Age: 53 Hometown: New Castle, Ind. College: Maranatha Baptist, 1992; Indiana 2002 Family: Wife, Tracy; son, Thomas; daughters, Hannah and Brittney COACHING EXPERIENCE 2017-23: Indiana (head coach) 2016: Indiana (associate head coach/defensive coordinator) 2015: South Florida (defensive coordinator) 2012-14: Ole Miss (linebackers/special teams coordinator) 2011: Arkansas State (assistant head coach) 2010: Drake (defensive coordinator/linebackers) 2008-09: Lambuth (assistant head coach/defen- sive coordinator/linebackers) 2007: Wabash College (special teams coordina- tor/secondary) 2004-06: Ben Davis High School (Ind.) (head coach) 1998-2003: Ben Davis High School (Ind.) (defen- sive coordinator) 1997: Marion (Ind.) High School (defensive coordinator) 1995-96: Armwood (Fla.) High School (defensive coordinator) 1992-94: Temple Heights (Fla.) High School (head coach) "I want to be able to build off what they've had here, and I love the fact that there's a standard of expectation that you're going to play great defense at Penn State. That's been going on a long time, before any of us got here." A L L E N