Clemson and Dabo Swinney appear to have their new defensive coordinator.
- The Tigers are “working toward a deal” to hire current Penn State DC Tom Allen away from the Nittany Lions and into the same role at Clemson, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Monday morning
Thamel said Allen is Clemson’s “top target” and a final decision is “expected in coming days.” Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported that Allen has already agreed to take the Clemson DC job, and Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported Allen is “expected to leave” Penn State to join the Tigers.
Locally, TigerIllustrated.com and TigerNet also reported Allen as the top candidate.
Allen would replace Wes Goodwin, an internal hire who was fired by Swinney on Jan. 6 after spending three seasons as Clemson’s defensive coordinator.
Allen most notably spent seven years as Indiana’s head coach from 2017-23. This year, he worked as Penn State’s defensive coordinator and helped the school reach its first College Football Playoff under coach James Franklin.
The Nittany Lions were the No. 6 seed in the 12-team bracket and won games against No. 11 SMU in the first round and No. 3 Boise State. Penn State was eliminated in the CFP semifinals on Thursday, losing to No. 7 Notre Dame.
Penn State finished 13-3 this year and had the nation’s No. 8 scoring defense (16.5 points per game allowed) and No. 7 total defense (294.8 yards per game allowed).
PSU was also fifth nationally in sacks with 44 in 16 games; held 10 opponents to no more than 14 points; and had a number of players earn all-conference honors, including defensive end Abdul Carter, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the year.
Allen, 54, was named a semifinalist for the 2024 Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach, for his work with the unit in his first season. Like Goodwin, Clemson’s former DC, Allen also served as the team’s linebackers coach.
Allen was 33-49 (.402) and 18-43 in the Big Ten as Indiana’s head coach. He was the national coach of the year in 2020 but was fired in fall 2023 after three straight losing seasons. He’s also coached at Arkansas State, Ole Miss and South Florida.
