Penn State Expected To Hire Former Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen as Defensive Coordinator

Indiana fired head football coach Tom Allen on Nov. 26, and ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Sunday that Penn State is expected to hire Allen to replace Manny Diaz as the team's defensive coordinator.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Penn State is finalizing a deal to hire Tom Allen as its next defensive coordinator, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel on Sunday afternoon.

Manny Diaz served as Penn State's defensive coordinator in 2023, but Duke hired Diaz as its head coach on Dec. 7

Allen was previously the head coach for the Indiana Hoosiers for seven seasons, but he was fired on Nov. 26 after a 3-9 campaign in 2023. Indiana has since replaced Allen with former James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti.

Sources: Penn State is targeting former Indiana coach Tom Allen to be the school’s next defensive coordinator. Deal is being finalized and is expected to come together in the upcoming days.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 17, 2023

Allen finished his Indiana tenure with a 33-49 overall record and an 18-43 mark in Big Ten play. With a 6-2 record, Allen was named 2020 AFCA Coach of the Year as Indiana peaked at No. 7 in the AP poll. Indiana's 14-7 stretch in 2019 and 2020 represented the program's most wins in a two-year period since 1993-94, despite playing just eight games in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Allen, a New Castle, Ind. native, got his first head coaching job at Indiana, and he has previous experience as a defensive coordinator at South Florida and Drake, plus three seasons as Ole Miss' linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. He was also the assistant head coach at Arkansas State in 2011, his first FBS job.

Coincidentally, one of Allen's most memorable wins as Indiana's coach came against Penn State in Bloomington on Oct. 24, 2020, when quarterback Michael Penix Jr. scored a game-winning two-point conversion to give Indiana a 36-35 win over the No. 8 Nittany Lions. In seven seasons, Allen had a 1-6 record against Penn State.

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen (right) shakes hands with Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (left) after a game at Beaver Stadium. Penn State won 24-0 / Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Indiana does not play Penn State during the 2024 season, but the schools are scheduled to play at Penn State in 2025, though the date has not been announced. 

In March 2021, Allen received a new seven-year contract which increased his salary to $4.9 million per year. But immediately after two successful seasons, Indiana went 9-27 from 2021-23 and won just three Big Ten games in three seasons. The Hoosiers finished with the worst record in the Big Ten in both the 2021 and 2023 seasons.

When Indiana fired Allen, it agreed to a $15.5 million settlement which reduced the total buyout by roughly $5 million. Allen will receive one $7.75 million payment this year and another in 2024, and the amount will not be offset by future earnings, as his original buyout would have been, according to ESPN.

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• INDIANA FIRES ALLEN: Indiana fired head football coach Tom Allen on Sunday morning after a seven-year tenure that included two bowl games in 2019 and 2020, followed by a 3-24 Big Ten record from 2021-23. CLICK HERE