Scouting Tom Allen: The View From Indiana
Tom Allen, Penn State's new defensive coordinator, arrives in State College after eight seasons at Indiana, the past seven as head coach. Allen and Penn State football coach James Franklin have developed a bond in that time, which helped bring them together for the first time.
So what was Allen like at Indiana? We asked Tom Brew, publisher of SI's Hoosiers Now site, for some insight into Allen's run at Indiana. Brew breaks down Allen's defensive approach, how he builds player relationships and how Franklin and Allen might work together.
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Question: How would you describe Tom Allen’s defensive approach at Indiana, and what made him a successful coordinator those years he did both?
Tom Brew: There's no question that Tom Allen is a very good defensive coach. He was a really good DC at South Florida before Kevin Wilson brought him to Indiana, and the improvement at Indiana was instant. He's loyal to his 4-2-5 scheme, and always does a great job of adapting players to the roles. Those two years when Indiana was playing at a high level — 8-4 in 2019 and 6-1 in 2020 — they had great play in the back seven two years in a row, and were solid at stopping the run. And don't forget that he did all of that with a bunch of three-star recruits that they coached up to another level.
RELATED: Did Penn State get another CEO of its defense with Tom Allen?
Question: What kind of relationship did Allen have with his players?
Tom Brew: He develops a great relationship with players, and NFL guys who did well at Indiana like Micah McFadden and Tiawan Mullen still rave about him. His LEO (Love Each Other) philosophy is a real thing, not something phony. He'll build good relationships quickly at Penn State too, because that's something that means a lot to him. He's a very humble man, too, and this is a terrific landing spot for him after the collapse at Indiana. He'll treat it as such. Indiana had to deal with a lot of players transferring out the past couple of years, but that's more a process of the transfer portal changes. Kids want to win. That wasn't a bad relationship thing at all, with a few exceptions.
Question: Did you expect him to get back into coaching so quickly, especially after receiving a nice buyout?
Tom Brew: Yes, this surprises me that he's jumping in so quickly, but certainly this is an offer that's hard to say no to. The first clue that he might jump right back in was when he gave back $5 million on his buyout in exchange for Indiana not getting any part of future earnings. Yeah, $15.5 million is still a lot of money, but what he makes at Penn State is all his.
Question: Tom Allen and James Franklin always spoke highly of each other. How do you see this new relationship going?
Tom Brew: I think Franklin has always admired how hard Allen's teams played at Indiana despite the huge talent gap. Certainly, losing to Indiana in 2020 was an eye-opener too. Franklin coached at Vanderbilt, so he knows what it's like to coach with huge inherent disadvantages. It is nearly impossible to win at Indiana — they haven't won a Big Ten title since 1967 — but Allen won anyway for several years. Think about it this way. Penn State has NEVER won a Big Ten basketball conference championship because they are at a huge disadvantage to other B1G schools like Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State and others. It's the same with football. Allen did a lot of good things, but didn't handle the slide well at all. Tom Allen is a phenomenal human being, and that means a lot to Franklin.
Question: James Franklin said he wanted a DC who wouldn't be "intimidated" replacing Manny Diaz. Will Allen be intimidated?
Tom Brew: I had to read this question twice. And then twice more. What exactly has Manny Diaz ever accomplished? Tom Allen and Manny Diaz are polar opposites, and Allen coming in has nothing to do with replacing Diaz. Tom Allen is not a chest-thumper, not a braggard, not a spotlight-stealer. He's all about building relationships and winning football games. I'm really excited to see he does with a defense full of elite recruits. He's never had that before.
This is a really good hire for Penn State. I can't wait to see how it all plays out.
Tom Brew has been the publisher of HoosiersNow.com, a Sports Illustrated/FanNation network channel, since 2019. He has covered college football since 1980 at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and other newspapers, as well as digital properties SEC Country and Saturday Down South.
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
