With spring practices underway around the country, CBS Sports took a look back at some of the biggest coordinator hires that could play a major role in how the upcoming season shakes out.

Clemson’s Tom Allen is featured on the list of coordinator hires that will impact the 2025 campaign.

Of course, Dabo Swinney brought in Allen, a 33-year coaching veteran, to replace Wes Goodwin as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator.

In addition to his experience as the head coach at Indiana from 2017-23, Allen has a lot of experience as a defensive coordinator at the college level – something Goodwin didn’t have when he took over as Clemson’s DC in December 2021, replacing Brent Venables after his departure to become Oklahoma’s head coach.

Allen joined the Tigers in January after most recently serving as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Penn State in 2024, when the Nittany Lions 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). Allen’s unit also finished second nationally in tackles for loss (119) and fifth in sacks (44).

Here’s what CBS Sports’ Will Backus had to say about Clemson’s hire of Allen, who has no shortage of talent at his disposal but is tasked with improving a Tiger defense that took a big step back last season:

In 2024, the Tigers had one of their worst defensive years of the Dabo Swinney era — especially against the run. They finished 101st in the FBS in opponent rush yards per carry (4.71), the most given up by a Clemson defense since 2011. Clemson also ranked 69th nationally in total defense (374.1 yards per game) and 53rd in scoring defense (23.4 points per game). The Tigers also struggled preventing explosives as they allowed 73 plays of 20 yards or more, which ranks 126th in the FBS. All that to say: Coach Dabo Swinney made the necessary change by moving on from Wes Goodwin and replacing him with Tom Allen — a radical move for Swinney, who hired a defensive coordinator from outside the program for the first time since 2012. Allen will have plenty of talent to work with at Clemson and should instill the physicality that fans got used to during Clemson’s College Football Playoff heyday.

Elsewhere in the ACC, Miami’s hire of defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman and Florida State’s hire of offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn were also listed by CBS Sports among the most impactful coordinator hires.

Clemson doesn’t face Miami during the 2025 regular season but hosts Florida State on Nov. 8 at Memorial Stadium.