Allen says Clemson's family atmosphere was a big draw. The slide isn't bad, either

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Dabo Swinney is known as a family-friendly head coach, and for new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, that was one of the biggest reasons to coach at Clemson.

Wednesday night is family night during the season, and the families of players and coaches are not only invited but encouraged to come to the PAW Bistro and eat supper together following practice. Swinney is also known for allowing his coaches to attend their kids’ functions and even coach, and time away from the facility to spend time with family is never frowned upon.

Allen knew all about it, and said that was one of the reasons he left Penn State.

“I'm so excited to be here at Clemson. To answer your question, it was really about my family,” Allen said on ACC PM with Mark Packer. “Obviously Penn State's an amazing place. James Franklin's done a tremendous job. He's a great leader. I was blessed to be there. We had an awesome season and really wasn't expecting to go anywhere. And then Coach Swinney reached out to me right after the Orange Bowl game, and my two daughters actually live here in the Carolinas. Our youngest daughter lives just up the street here in Greenville and another daughter lives in North Carolina, so just have a chance to have all three of our kids with us. Thomas (his son) is going to be on the staff as well.

“Just really felt like that from a family perspective, it gave me a chance to have all of us together. This profession is challenging and when you get an opportunity to have all of 'em in the same area, that's pretty neat. And we have two grandchildren as well, so pretty special.”

Allen joins the Tigers with more than three decades of coaching experience. Most recently, he served as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Penn State in 2024, a season in which he helped lead the Nittany Lions to a school-record 13 wins and a College Football Playoff berth.

Allen’s defense recorded two pick-sixes in Penn State’s 38-10 win against SMU in the College Football Playoff First Round. In the following game, his unit bottled up Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty, holding the star running back to a season-low 3.47 yards per carry and no touchdowns in a 31-14 Penn State victory in the College Football Playoff National Quarterfinal at the Fiesta Bowl.

Penn State finished seventh in the nation in total defense (294.8 yards per game) and eighth in the nation in scoring defense (16.5 points per game) under Allen’s guidance in 2024. The unit finished second nationally in tackles for loss (119) and fifth in sacks (44), categories in which Clemson cumulatively leads the nation since 2012 (560 sacks and 1,465 tackles for loss in that span). Allen helped guide defensive end Abdul Carter to unanimous All-America honors, Penn State’s first time having a player earn that distinction since running back Saquon Barkley in 2017.

Swinney added the famous slide to the Reeves football complex to add a little fun into the mix, and it didn’t take Allen long to take a trip to the bottom.

“I was with Coach Swinney, and we literally were walking down the hallway and he just jumped on the slide,” Allen said. “And so I'm like, you know what? I guess I got to do the same thing. But the thing was a lot faster than I was expecting, so I got to the bottom. Fortunately, I didn't wipe out, but I think it'll get a little bit better with time.”

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