Tom Allen explains his ‘immediate interest’ in DC role at Penn State

For the first time since his official hiring announcement, we heard the new Penn State football defensive coordinator, Tom Allen, speak to the media today. Allen has big shoes to fill with what Manny Diaz gave the Nittany Lions over the past two years. But only a few weeks ago, Allen was wearing red and white and was the head coach at Indiana. Today, he shared his thought process on taking the job in State College and working with James Franklin.

Tom Allen had “immediate interest” in DC role at Penn State

Once the 2023 regular season ended, so did Tom Allen’s tenure as the head coach of Indiana. James Franklin wasted no time in replacing Manny Diaz when he left the Penn State football team for the Duke head coaching role. But when Franklin reached out to Allen, it didn’t take long for Allen to understand where his heart was at. That is being a football coach.

When speaking to the media today, Allen said, “I’m a football coach. Just love what I do. This opportunity presented itself during this timeframe and I had immediate interest in it. For me, I really expected to get back into it once things happened as they did, probably a little quicker than expected. I have so much respect for this program. And, for Coach Franklin and what he’s built here.”

Tom Allen up next. “I’m a football coach. Just love what I do. This opportunity presented itself during this timeframe and I had immediate interest in it.” pic.twitter.com/lIeM2L4yaI

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) December 20, 2023

James Franklin has all the faith in Tom Allen

Today was also the first time since the hire that James Franklin has spoken to the media. Sharing his thought process and the respect he had for a former opponent. Now, Franklin and Allen will work together shooting for the same goal: bringing a National Championship to Penn State.

When speaking about Tom Allen, James Franklin said, “This is a football guy that’s still heavily involved…I’m looking for a leader of the defense.”

This hire makes sense because he knows he can trust Allen to keep the defense in order, as he has head coaching experience. For Allen to gain credibility again to become a head coach, he will have to keep the defense clicking on all cylinders, much like Manny Diaz has for the past two seasons.

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