Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney joined the “Out of Bounds” show on WCCP 105.5 FM The Roar on Tuesday afternoon.
During his interview, Swinney was asked what the biggest change on the defensive side of the ball has been this spring, with new defensive coordinator Tom Allen now in the fold and leading the Tigers’ defense.
“Really loud. It’s very loud over there,” Swinney joked.
“It’s a lot of fun. He’s done a great job. He’s really what I envisioned when I made that decision. Again, it’s spring ball. We’re in that ‘honeymoon’ phase. So, LSU, we’ll be able to find out exactly where we are and go from there. But he’s just a great leader of young men, and it’s been awesome. There’s really a lot of alignment. We think alike, and he brings a great perspective.”
Of course, Swinney hired Allen, a 33-year coaching veteran, in January 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 plenty of experience as a defensive coordinator at the college level, most recently serving as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Penn State last season.
“He’s been a head coach, and I just really appreciate the job that he’s done, really blending in a lot of things around here,” Swinney said. “I think he’s just had a ball. I think it’s been great for him to be here and experience Clemson and be a part of it. But it’s been fun because we’ve changed a lot of things up, we’re installing a lot of things differently. It’s been great for the coaches, and that’s the other thing – I think he’s a really good leader for our coaches, too.”
Allen has a lot of talent to work with as he takes over at the helm of the Tiger defense, and he’s tasked with improving a unit that, under Goodwin in 2024, ranked tied for 49th in the FBS in points per game allowed (23.4), tied for 53rd in passing yards per game allowed (213.5), tied for 64th in yards per play allowed (5.6), 69th in yards per game allowed (374.1) and 85th in rushing yards per game allowed (160.6).
“Again, we weren’t where we needed to be defensively last year, and everybody, they understand that,” Swinney said. “That’s why Tom is here, and everybody’s on board in doing what they need to do to make sure that we can have a better year this year defensively. And then offensively, create the type of consistency that we want to have so that we can put it all together.”
Clemson (10-4, 7-1 ACC in 2024) is coming off its eighth ACC Championship in the past 10 seasons and its seventh all-time berth in the College Football Playoff.
While Swinney acknowledged the Tigers “had a really good year last year,” he also wants to see his team accomplish more of its goals in 2025.
“I don’t want to discount winning the league for the eighth time in 10 years and going to your seventh playoff in 10 years,” he said. “But we felt like there was more for us, and that’s our goal this year, to see if we can hit a few more of our goals that we have on the board.”
Clemson will conclude spring drills on April 5 with its annual Orange & White Spring Game at Memorial Stadium.
The Tigers open the 2025 season at home on Aug. 30 with a marquee showdown against the LSU Tigers.