Reports: Penn State to Name Tom Allen as Defensive Coordinator

Penn State is poised to name Tom Allen, the former Indiana head coach, as its next defensive coordinator. ESPN's Pete Thamel was the first to report the news. Allen would replace Manny Diaz, who left after two seasons to become the head coach at Duke.

Allen spent seven seasons as Indiana's head coach, a run that included two successful seasons in 2019 and 2020, when he was named the AFCA coach of the year, but struggles thereafter. Indiana went 3-9 this season, falling to Purdue 35-31 in its finale.

The hire resembles what Penn State coach James Franklin did two years ago in hiring Diaz after he was fired at Miami. It turned into an exceptional decision for both coaches. Diaz parlayed his success into the Duke position, and Franklin proved that Penn State's DC job is one of the nation's best. Franklin could make a similar decision with Allen, the former Indiana head coach.

Franklin long has been complimentary of Allen. "Good man, good person, good coach," Franklin said last year. And Allen built his career on defense, having turned it into an Indiana asset. Some of his early Indiana defenses were exceptional in takeaways (26 in 2018) and third-down success rate (eighth nationally in 2017). A fresh start could benefit Allen as it did Diaz.

Franklin recently detailed his metrics for hiring a defensive coordinator, which parallels some of Allen's career.

"I've had three defensive coordinators that have all been able to play at a high level, and we've taken a similar approach with all three," Franklin said. "But then we've also recruited towards a certain scheme, as well. I'm not saying that what we have played is the only way you can play defense. There are guys that run a 3-4 that are highly successful. There are guys that are running a 3-3 stack that are highly successful. I just think there's a lot of gymnastics that go into making that change and can create a lot of questions if guys are asking am I going to fit into the new scheme. [I] prefer not to do that."