Tom Allen
Tom Allen went 33–49 as a head coach, 2016–2023, at Indiana. Share
- Record
- 33–49 career
- Seasons
- 8
- Schools
- 1
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Born
- Mar 14, 1970
- Alma mater
- Maranatha Baptist College
- Best season
- 2020 6–2, No. 12
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Indiana bowl game | 0–1 | 4th | Foster Farms Bowl L | ||
| 2017 | Indiana | 5–7 | 7th | |||
| 2018 | Indiana | 5–7 | 6th | |||
| 2019 | Indiana | 8–5 | 4th | Gator Bowl L | ||
| 2020 | Indiana | 6–2 | 2nd | Outback Bowl L | 12 | |
| 2021 | Indiana | 2–10 | 7th | |||
| 2022 | Indiana | 4–8 | 6th | |||
| 2023 | Indiana | 3–9 | 7th |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 29 | 3–26 | 10% |
| Against top-10 teams | 19 | 1–18 | 5% |
| Against rivals | 16 | 5–11 | 31% |
| Conference games | 61 | 18–43 | 30% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 3 | 0–3 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 34 | 14–20 | 41% |
| At home | 41 | 20–21 | 49% |
| On the road | 36 | 12–24 | 33% |
| At neutral sites | 5 | 1–4 | 20% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 26 | 22–4 | 85% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 56 | 11–45 | 20% |
His own 82 games on file, 2016–2023, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Franklin 2017–2023 | 1–6 | Penn State | 7 | |
| Jim Harbaugh 2017–2023 | 1–6 | Michigan | 7 | |
| Jeff Brohm 2017–2023 | 1–5 | Purdue, Louisville | 6 | |
| Mike Locksley 2019–2023 | 2–3 | Maryland | 5 | |
| Ryan Day 2019–2023 | 0–5 | Ohio State | 5 | |
| Greg Schiano 2020–2023 | 1–3 | Rutgers | 4 | |
| Mel Tucker 2020–2022 | 2–1 | Michigan State | 3 | |
| Luke Fickell 2021–2023 | 1–2 | Cincinnati, Wisconsin | 3 | |
| Mark Dantonio 2017–2019 | 0–3 | Michigan State | 3 |
Tom Allen’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Rutgersseries | 7 | 4–3 |
| Marylandseries | 7 | 3–4 |
| Michigan Stateseries | 7 | 2–5 |
| Michiganseries | 7 | 1–6 |
| Penn Stateseries | 7 | 1–6 |
| Ohio Stateseries | 7 | 0–7 |
| Purdueseries | 6 | 1–5 |
| Wisconsinseries | 3 | 2–1 |
How he was hired
Power-conference head-coaching hires since 2010, with each coach’s previous job and ties to the school as collected by hand from Wikipedia: Hiring facts: M. Schuckers, cfb_coach_analytics.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Temple Heights HS (FL) high school | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1993 | Temple Heights HS (FL) high school | Interim head coach and defensive coordinator | |
| 1994 | Temple Heights HS (FL) high school | Head coach | |
| 1995–96 | Armwood HS (FL) high school | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1997 | Marion HS (IN) high school | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1998–2003 | Ben Davis HS (IN) high school | Defensive coordinator | |
| 2004–06 | Ben Davis HS (IN) high school | Head coach | |
| 2007 | Wabash | Special teams and defensive backs coach | |
| 2008–09 | Lambuth | Assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 2010 | Drake | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 2011 | Arkansas State | Assistant head coach | |
| 2012–14 | Ole Miss | Special teams and linebackers coach | |
| 2015 | South Florida | Defensive coordinator | |
| 2016 | Indiana | Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | |
| 2016 | Indiana | Head coach | |
| 2017–23 | Indiana | Head coach | |
| 2024 | Penn State | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 2025–present | Clemson | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included. Head-coaching seasons the infobox leaves out come from our records.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Chris CreightonWabash, Drake
- Hugh FreezeLambuth, Arkansas State, Ole Miss
- David GunnArkansas State
- Willie TaggartSouth Florida
- Kevin WilsonIndiana
- James FranklinPenn State
- Dabo SwinneyClemson
Assistants who became head coaches
- Billy CoshStony Brook
- Jeff McInerneyCentral Connecticut
- Shawn WatsonWofford, Southern Illinois
- Mike DeBordCentral Michigan
- Kane WommackSouth Alabama
- Kalen DeBoerFresno State, Washington, Alabama, Sioux Falls
- Rod CareyNorthern Illinois, Temple
- Walt BellMassachusetts
- Justin FuenteMemphis, Virginia Tech
Worked under (7)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Creighton | Wabash | 2007 | Special teams and defensive backs coach | |
| Hugh Freeze | Lambuth | 2008–09 | Assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Chris Creighton | Drake | 2010 | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| David Gunn | Arkansas State | 2011 | Assistant head coach | |
| Hugh Freeze | Arkansas State | 2011 | Assistant head coach | |
| Hugh Freeze | Ole Miss | 2012–14 | Special teams and linebackers coach | |
| Willie Taggart | South Florida | 2015 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Kevin Wilson | Indiana | 2016 | Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | |
| James Franklin | Penn State | 2024 | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Dabo Swinney | Clemson | 2025–26 | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (9)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Cosh | Indiana, 2016–17: graduate assistant | Stony Brook | |
| Jeff McInerney | Indiana, 2016–18: quality control coach | Central Connecticut | |
| Shawn Watson | Indiana, 2016: offensive quality control coach; 2016: quarterbacks coach | Wofford, Southern Illinois | |
| Mike DeBord | Indiana, 2017–18: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | Central Michigan | |
| Kane Wommack | Indiana, 2018: linebackers coach; 2019–20: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | South Alabama | |
| Kalen DeBoer | Indiana, 2019: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Fresno State, Washington, Alabama, Sioux Falls | |
| Rod Carey | Indiana, 2022: quality control coach and offensive line coach; 2023: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Northern Illinois, Temple | |
| Walt Bell | Indiana, 2022–23: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Massachusetts | |
| Justin Fuente | Indiana, 2023: analyst | Memphis, Virginia Tech |
Other assistants under him (13)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Johns | Indiana, 2016: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| William Inge | Indiana, 2016: special teams and linebackers coach; 2017: linebackers coach; 2018–19: special teams coach | |
| Grant Heard | Indiana, 2017–19: passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach; 2020–21: co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Mark Hagen | Indiana, 2017–18: defensive coordinator | |
| Nick Sheridan | Indiana, 2017–18: quarterbacks coach; 2019: tight ends coach; 2020–21: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Kevin Peoples | Indiana, 2020–21: co-defensive coordinator | |
| Charlton Warren | Indiana, 2021: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Adam C. Henry, Ed.D. | Indiana, 2022: co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Chad Wilt | Indiana, 2022: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; 2023: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Craig Johnson | Indiana, 2022–23: assistant head coach and running backs coach | |
| Paul Randolph | Indiana, 2022–23: defensive line coach | |
| Anthony Tucker | Indiana, 2023: co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Matt Guerrieri | Indiana, 2023: co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Indiana | head coachbonuses up to $1,441,668; buyout $2,500,000 | $1,830,000 USA Today | |
| 2016 | Indiana | defensive coordinatorbonuses up to $62,777 | $501,000 USA Today | |
| 2015 | South Florida | defensive coordinator | $350,000 USA Today |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Allen’s teams went for it on 22% of fourth downs and on 34% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 54% of plays and took 24.1 seconds a play, 2017–2023.
| Season | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 12 g | 19 of 119 16% | 27% | 56% | 21.1 | −0.08 | |
| 2018 12 g | 27 of 96 28% | 40% | 56% | 21.8 | +0.02 | |
| 2019 13 g | 18 of 89 20% | 32% | 53% | 27.5 | +0.08 | |
| 2020 8 g | 15 of 65 23% | 43% | 54% | 26.1 | +0.03 | |
| 2021 12 g | 22 of 105 21% | 30% | 51% | 26.0 | −0.12 | |
| 2022 12 g | 24 of 124 19% | 32% | 59% | 20.4 | −0.10 | |
| 2023 12 g | 26 of 96 27% | 39% | 49% | 26.2 | −0.01 | |
| All 81 g | 151 of 694 22% | 34% | 54% | 24.1 | −0.03 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.