The new defensive coordinator at Clemson explains why he chose to join the Tigers.
A defensive coordinator from a club that advanced to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals taking a new position may sound strange. For Tom Allen, the new defensive coordinator at Clemson, however, the choice was as straightforward as his family.
On Wednesday, Allen participated in his first staff meeting since being hired by head coach Dabo Swinney and conducted his first interviews with local media. He stated that he plans to begin holding player meetings on Thursday.
He is not a native of South Carolina. Allen’s seven years as Indiana’s head coach was a dream come true because he was really born in New Castle, Indiana.
However, he lives in the Carolinas with his wife, Tracy, and their two kids. Thus, accepting this position brings him and his spouse closer to their family.
“We’re close, so when our girls learned we were taking this job, they cried,” he added. “With such things, we
Don’t assume anything about them.
Allen began his lengthy coaching career in 1992 as a high school coach at Temple Heights in Florida. In 1997, he returned to Indiana and began coaching at Ben Davis High School after having previously taught at Marion High School.
Eventually, he entered the collegiate ranks by accepting a position at Division III Wabash as a defensive backs coach. In 2017, he was appointed head coach of Indiana University for the first time.
He coached at 11 different schools across two states in between his high school and collegiate tenure before taking the helm at Indiana. Allen said that his family found the nomadic lifestyle difficult.
He said that as they were getting ready to relocate, one of his girls would not get out of the car.
Following his dismissal from Indiana, he relocated to Penn State, where he was the Nittany Lions’ linebackers coach and defensive coordinator. Before losing to Notre Dame last week, the Nittany Lions advanced to the semifinals of the inaugural 12-team CFP expansion under coach James Franklin.
Allen stated that he was not seeking employment. However, he couldn’t resist the chance to be closer to his kids and, in a way, make up for lost time.
Allen remarked, “It was completely unexpected.” “Not everybody will comprehend it. And I honor that. However, the bottom line is what I mentioned previously. It has to do with my family and the timing of everything.
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