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Clemson Tigers

Tom Allen hired as Clemson DC, leaving post at Penn State

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

Tom Allen is officially the new defensive coordinator at Clemson.

News broke Monday that Clemson was working toward hiring Allen away from Penn State. The Tigers announced the hire as official on Tuesday.

I’m thankful for the opportunity that Coach Swinney has given me to lead the defense. I have admired him from afar for years and look forward to working for him and with his defensive staff,” Allen said in a released statement. “I remain incredibly grateful for the opportunity James Franklin gave me to be part of Penn State football, a championship-caliber program in every respect that will continue to compete at the highest level.

Allen heads to Clemson after 1 season at Penn State. The former Indiana head coach helped the Nittany Lions pick up their first 2 College Football Playoff wins in program history, as PSU reached the semifinals. Led by Unanimous All-American Abdul Carter, Penn State finished second nationally in tackles for loss (119), fifth in sacks (44) seventh in total defense (294.8 yards per game) and eighth in scoring defense (16.5 points per game).

We’ve got a great football coach — and a great leader of men — coming to Clemson,” Dabo Swinney said via a Clemson release. “He brings a ton of experience and was highly recommended by some of the best people in this business. He is obviously coming off of a great year as the defensive coordinator at Penn State, and we’re excited to welcome him as our defensive coordinator here at Clemson.

For Penn State, James Franklin’s team will have its third defensive coordinator in as many seasons in 2025, as Allen replaced Manny Diaz, the current Duke head coach.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.

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