Clemson Hires Tom Allen as Defensive Coordinator
CLEMSON, S.C. — Head Coach Dabo Swinney and Clemson Football announced today that Clemson has hired Tom Allen as Defensive Coordinator. The hire was finalized Tuesday by the Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation Committee.
Swinney will formally introduce Allen at a press conference at the Smart Family Media Center at 1:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The press conference will be streamed live on ClemsonPlus.com.
“We’ve got a great football coach — and a great leader of men — coming to Clemson,” Swinney said. “He brings a ton of experience and was highly recommended by some of the best people in this business. He is obviously coming off of a great year as the defensive coordinator at Penn State, and we’re excited to welcome him as our defensive coordinator here at Clemson.”
Allen joins the Tigers with more than three decades of coaching experience. Most recently, he served as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Penn State in 2024, a season in which he helped lead the Nittany Lions to a school-record 13 wins and a College Football Playoff berth.
Allen’s defense recorded two pick-sixes in Penn State’s 38-10 win against SMU in the College Football Playoff First Round. In the following game, his unit bottled up Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty, holding the star running back to a season-low 3.47 yards per carry and no touchdowns in a 31-14 Penn State victory in the College Football Playoff National Quarterfinal at the Fiesta Bowl.
Penn State finished seventh in the nation in total defense (294.8 yards per game) and eighth in the nation in scoring defense (16.5 points per game) under Allen’s guidance in 2024. The unit finished second nationally in tackles for loss (119) and fifth in sacks (44), categories in which Clemson cumulatively leads the nation since 2012 (560 sacks and 1,465 tackles for loss in that span). Allen helped guide defensive end Abdul Carter to unanimous All-America honors, Penn State’s first time having a player earn that distinction since running back Saquon Barkley in 2017.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity that Coach Swinney has given me to lead the defense. I have admired him from afar for years and look forward to working for him and with his defensive staff,” said Allen, whose full comments are included below the announcement. “I remain incredibly grateful for the opportunity James Franklin gave me to be part of Penn State football, a championship-caliber program in every respect that will continue to compete at the highest level.”
Prior to his time at Penn State, Allen spent eight years at Indiana, including first as its associate head coach/defense in 2016 before serving as head coach for the Hoosiers for seven seasons from 2017-23. In his first season in Bloomington, he inherited a defense that ranked second-to-last among Power Five teams in passing yards allowed, third-to-last in total defense and scoring defense and fifth-to-last in first downs allowed prior to his arrival, but under Allen, Indiana held its opponents to 129.4 fewer total yards and 94.1 fewer passing yards per game a year later, the nation’s largest improvement. Indiana’s defense allowed 10.4 fewer points per game and gave up 25 fewer touchdowns in one year under his leadership.
Allen’s head coaching tenure at Indiana included the 2020 campaign for which he earned AFCA National Coach of the Year as well as Big Ten Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year honors. He developed a staff that included future head coaches Kalen DeBoer and Kane Wommack, and the Hoosiers went 6-2 in the pandemic-truncated season, Indiana’s highest winning percentage in a season (.750) since 1967.
Allen coached four All-Americans on Indiana’s defense, including linebacker Micah McFadden, linebacker Tegray Scales, linebacker Aaron Casey and defensive back Tiawan Mullen (the brother of former Clemson All-American Trayvon Mullen). Players under his tutelage also accounted for 35 All-Big Ten selections.
Allen began his coaching career in 1992, spending three seasons at Temple Heights Christian School in Tampa, Fla. including serving the 1993 season as its interim head coach and 1994 as its head coach. From 1995-96, he served as the defensive coordinator at Tampa’s Armwood High School.
In 1997, he began a 10-year run as a successful high school coach in the state of Indiana. He served as defensive coordinator at Marion High School in 1997 before becoming the defensive coordinator at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis from 1998-2003. In 2004, he was promoted to head coach, a position in which he served at Ben Davis for three seasons before making the jump to the collegiate level in 2007.
Allen coached special teams and defensive backs at Division III Wabash College in Indiana in 2007 before moving on to serve as the assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at NAIA Lambuth University in Tennessee from 2008-09. In 2010, he served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Drake, an FCS program located in Des Moines, Iowa.
Allen made his FBS coaching debut in 2011, serving as assistant head coach for the 2011 Arkansas State Red Wolves that went 10-3 and earned the Sun Belt title. He then moved to the power conference level in 2012, spending three seasons as Ole Miss’ special teams coordinator and linebackers coach from 2012-14 alongside current Clemson offensive line coach Matt Luke. Allen then spent one year as defensive coordinator at South Florida in 2015 before departing for Indiana in 2016.
A native of New Castle, Ind., Allen, 54, played collegiately at Maranatha Baptist in Wisconsin from 1988-91. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Maranatha Baptist in 1992 and added a master’s degree from Indiana in 2002. He and his wife, Tracy, have three children: a son, Thomas, and two daughters, Hannah and Brittney.
FULL COMMENTS FROM DABO SWINNEY AND TOM ALLEN
Head Coach Dabo Swinney:
“I am excited to announce Tom Allen as our defensive coordinator today. After a very thorough process these past few weeks, Tom checked every box that I was looking for. We’ve got a great football coach — and a great leader of men — coming to Clemson. I’m excited to welcome Tom and his family, including his wife, Tracy, his son, Thomas, and his two daughters, Hannah and Brittney.
“He will hit the ground running this week to get started helping us achieve all of our goals in 2025. He brings a ton of experience and was highly recommended by some of the best people in this business. He is obviously coming off of a great year as the defensive coordinator at Penn State, and we’re excited to welcome him as our defensive coordinator here at Clemson.”
Defensive Coordinator Tom Allen:
“I’m thankful for the opportunity that Coach Swinney has given me to lead the defense. I have admired him from afar for years and look forward to working for him and with his defensive staff.
“I remain incredibly grateful for the opportunity James Franklin gave me to be part of Penn State football, a championship-caliber program in every respect that will continue to compete at the highest level. I wish PSU nothing but the best and loved my time there.
“My family is very important to me and this move provides us the unique opportunity of living close to our daughters. Our children have made countless sacrifices throughout the years in the coaching profession and this move brings us together.
“I can’t wait to get to work with this Clemson staff and team and their commitment to ‘Best is the Standard.’”
ALLEN COACHING TIMELINE
2025 – Clemson (Defensive Coordinator)
2024 – Penn State (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers)
2017-23 – Indiana (Head Coach)
2016 – Indiana (Associate Head Coach/Defense)
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/Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers)
2007 – Wabash College (Special Teams Coordinator/Secondary)
2004-06 – Ben Davis (Ind.) High School (Head Coach)
1998-03 – Ben Davis (Ind.) High School (Defensive Coordinator)
1997 – Marion (Ind.) High School (Defensive Coordinator)
1995-96 – Armwood (Fla.) High School (Defensive Coordinator)
1994 – Temple Heights (Fla.) High School (Head Coach)
1993 – Temple Heights (Fla.) High School (Interim Head Coach)
1992 – Temple Heights (Fla.) High School (Assistant Coach)