What They Are Saying: Clemson Hires Allen as DC
By: Robert MacRae January 14, 2025

Clemson officially has its new defensive coordinator.

Head coach Dabo Swinney and Clemson Football announced Tuesday that Tom Allen has been hired as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator. The hire was finalized Tuesday by the Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation Committee.

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.

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. His 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.

Check out some of what they are saying on social media about Clemson hiring Allen as defensive coordinator:

–Photo courtesy Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images