Tom Allen (American football)
Thomas Allen (born March 14, 1970) is an American college football coach serving as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers football team. Allen previously served as the defensive coordinator at Indiana and South Florida. He spent time as an assistant at Ole Miss, Arkansas State, and Drake, among other programs. A native of New Castle, Indiana, Allen also spent six seasons as defensive coordinator and three seasons as the head football coach at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Indiana |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Record | 18–20 |
| Annual salary | $3.9 million [1] |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | March 14, 1970 New Castle, Indiana |
| Alma mater | Maranatha Baptist University Indiana University |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1992–1994 | Temple Heights HS (FL) |
| 1995–1996 | Armwood HS (FL) (DC) |
| 1997 | Marion HS (IN) (DC) |
| 1998–2003 | Ben Davis HS (IN) (DC) |
| 2004–2006 | Ben Davis HS (IN) |
| 2007 | Wabash (DB/ST) |
| 2008–2009 | Lambuth (AHC/DC/LB) |
| 2010 | Drake (DC/LB) |
| 2011 | Arkansas State (AHC) |
| 2012–2014 | Ole Miss (LB/ST) |
| 2015 | South Florida (DC) |
| 2016 | Indiana (DC) |
| 2016–present | Indiana |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 18–20 (college) |
| Bowls | 0–2 |
Early life and education
Allen played high school football at New Castle High School in New Castle, Indiana, where his father (also named Tom Allen) was the head football coach. While in high school, Allen also competed in shot put and wrestling. After high school, he attended Maranatha Baptist University, where he participated in football and wrestling.[2]
Coaching career
Arkansas State (2011)
In 2011, Allen served as the assistant head coach at Arkansas State, his first position with a Division I FBS program. The head coach during this time was Hugh Freeze, who Allen had previously coached with at Lambuth University.[3] After the end of the regular season, Allen followed Freeze to Ole Miss after Freeze was hired to be the head coach of the Rebels. In his sole season with the Red Wolves, they went 10–2.[4]
Ole Miss (2012–2014)
From 2012 to 2014, Allen spent three seasons as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Ole Miss under head coach Hugh Freeze.[5] During his time in Oxford, the Rebels went 24–15 and consistently ranked near the top of the FBS in terms of tackles for loss and sacks. Prior to his arrival, Ole Miss had ranked last in the SEC in total defense.
South Florida (2015)
On December 17, 2014, Allen was named defensive coordinator at South Florida under third-year head coach Willie Taggart.[6] In his lone season in Tampa, Allen's defensive unit ranked first in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) in scoring defense at just 19.6 points per conference game. His efforts also saw the team's defense rank high nationally, tying for 13th nationally in tackles for loss (7.5 per game), 14th in interceptions (17), 24th in takeaways (25), 26th in sacks (2.62 per game), 31st in rushing defense (141.4 ypg), 34th in passing efficiency defense (118.76), and 35th in scoring defense (22.9 ppg).
Allen was considered a candidate for the defensive coordinator position at Auburn following then-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp's departure in December 2015, but the vacant position was ultimately filled by Kevin Steele.[7][8]
Indiana (2016–present)
Allen was hired on January 15, 2016 to serve as defensive coordinator on head coach Kevin Wilson's staff at Indiana.[9] In replacing previous defensive coordinator Brian Knorr, Allen took over a defense that ranked #120 in the FBS in total defense and #106 in opponent points scored. After just one season, Allen engineered one of the top defensive turnarounds in the country with the team improving in every major statistical category against a schedule featuring four top-10 opponents, a program first. The Hoosiers were the most improved team nationally in total defense (-169.4 ypg) and passing defense (-134.1 ypg), the sixth-most improved in third-down defense (-12.2 percent) and the ninth-most improved in points per game allowed (-12.3 ypg).
On December 1, 2016, Indiana athletic director Fred Glass named Allen head coach after Wilson's sudden resignation, forcing Allen to make his coaching debut during the team's final game of the season at the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl.[10] His contract guaranteed him $1.795 million annually — $500,000 per year in base pay, plus $1.295 million per year in outside, marketing, and promotional income. This made Tom Allen the lowest paid head coach in the Big Ten, although various bonuses could take his total compensation above $3 million.[11]
Allen quickly elevated Indiana's recruiting posture. During his first two seasons as head coach, a school-record number of players earned conference honors and a school-record were drafted or invited to NFL camps. The 2019 signing class was the highest rated in program history, besting his previous top-ranked class of 2018, and the two classes combined constituting 80 of the team's 115-man roster.[12] In 2019, Allen's third season, he led Indiana to its first 7-2 start since 1993, the last season Indiana won eight games.[13] That season Indiana earned a #24 ranking in the Associated Press and #25 ranking in the coaches poll, the team's first top 25 ranking in football since 1994.[14] His 17 wins (and counting) over his first three seasons were the most for an Indiana coach in the post-World War II era.[15] Indiana finished the regular season with an 8-4 record, its first eight-win since 1993, and its 5-4 Big Ten record its first winning conference record since 1993.[16] Following the regular season, Allen and the school agreed to a new seven-year contract with an average annual compensation of $3.9 million.
Personal life
Allen is a Christian and a supporter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.[17]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana (Big Ten Conference) (2016–present) | |||||||||
| 2016 | Indiana | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4th (East) | L Foster Farms | ||||
| 2017 | Indiana | 5–7 | 2–7 | 7th (East) | |||||
| 2018 | Indiana | 5–7 | 2–7 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2019 | Indiana | 8–5 | 5–4 | 4th (East) | L Gator | ||||
| Indiana: | 18–20 | 9–18 | |||||||
| Total: | 18–20 | ||||||||
References
- https://www.idsnews.com/article/2019/12/iu-football-head-coach-tom-allen-signs-7-year-contract
- Osterman, Zach (August 28, 2017). "Wherever Tom Allen goes, improvement follows". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Dodd, Dennis (July 24, 2017). "Indiana coach, ex-Ole Miss assistant Tom Allen 'shocked' by Hugh Freeze misconduct". CBSSports.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Aschoff, Edward; Scarborough, Alex (July 21, 2017). "Hugh Freeze's roller-coaster tenure at Ole Miss: A timeline". ABC News. American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Robbins, Kyle (February 23, 2017). "No, you don't need to worry about Tom Allen and Grant Heard amid Ole Miss' NCAA allegations. Here's why". The Crimson Quarry. SB Nation. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Newberg, Josh (December 17, 2014). "Tom Allen officially named defensive coordinator". 247Sports.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Stevens, Matthew (December 13, 2015). "REPORT: South Florida DC Tom Allen candidate for Auburn". Montgomery Advertiser. Gannett. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Stevens, Matthew (December 1, 2016). "Former Auburn DC candidate Tom Allen named new Indiana head coach". Montgomery Advertiser. Gannett. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Robbins, Kyle (January 16, 2016). "Indiana football hires South Florida's Tom Allen, fires Brian Knorr in change at defensive coordinator". The Crimson Quarry. SB Nation. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Osterman, Zach (December 1, 2016). "Kevin Wilson resigns; Tom Allen named new IU head coach". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- Osterman, Zach (June 19, 2017). "Breaking down Tom Allen's new IU football contract". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- Osterman, Zach (October 26, 2019). "Fred Glass vindicated in Tom Allen decision: IU 'program is going in the right direction'". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- Bozich, Rick (November 3, 2019). "After $12.6 million in Big Ten wins, will Tom Allen have Indiana ranked?". WDRB. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- Glenesk, Matthew (November 4, 2019). "Indiana football is ranked. A lot has changed since it was top 25-worthy". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- Osterman, Zach (November 4, 2019). "IU football coach Tom Allen likely to get a big raise after this season". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- Press, The Associated (November 30, 2019). "Ramsey helps Hoosiers reclaim Bucket with OT win over Purdue". 13 WTHR Indianapolis. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
- "Tom Allen on faith, his New Castle roots and Year 2 with Indiana football". The Star Press. Gannett. April 26, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2019.