Tom Allen, the former Penn State defensive coordinator and Indiana head coach, will not hit the road to recruit. Dabo Swinney said Ben Boulware will do that.

It might seem odd to see a defensive coordinator for a team that reached the College Football Playoff semifinals to take a new job.

Tom Allen carries a wealth of coaching experience, dating back to 1992. He will be tasked with reviving Clemson's defense after a rough 2024 season.

The Clemson Tigers shook the college football world this week with the announcement of their new defensive coordinator being hired from one of the best units in the country. Clemson made things official on Tuesday with former Indiana Hoosiers head coach and Penn State Nittany Lions defensive architect Tom Allen to take over the Tigers defense and replace the fired Wes Goodwin.

The Clemson football 2025 roster for coach Dabo Swinney will include many starters from this season. Here are the five most valuable players

With Allen’s hiring, five of Clemson’s 10 assistant coaches are now set to make at at $1 million in annual salary in 2025 (Allen, Riley, Matt Luke, Chris Rumph and Nick Eason). That’s on top of Swinney’s annual salary of $11.25 million for this year and puts the Tigers comfortably among the nation’s top 10 in total assistant coach pay.

Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen has agreed to take the same position at Clemson, the school announced on Tuesday. Allen, who just finished his first season as Penn State's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach,

The Clemson Tigers recently made a massive change to their coaching staff, moving on from defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin. He was defensive coordinator/linebackers coach for three seasons, but Dabo Swinney wanted to make a change after a disappointing 2024 season on that side of the ball.

Tom Allen is another well-paid hire for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney's staff, which includes assistants Garrett Riley, Matt Luke, Chris Rumph, and Nick Eason.