When USC did not hire Jim Leonhard as offensive coordinator, some Trojan fans wondered if Lincoln Riley settled for second-best. However, if we were to accept the idea that Lincoln Riley didn’t try hard enough to hire Leonhard, we needed to see if other prominent Big Ten programs were going to land him in the offseason.
When Michigan State didn’t hire Leonhard, that was one sign that Leonhard simply didn’t want a college defensive coordinator job. However, with Penn State’s defensive coordinator job open, we had to wait and see what the Nittany Lions would do. If they hired Leonhard, Lincoln Riley would have received — and deserved — fresh scrutiny.
That did not happen.
Per Nittany Lions Wire, Penn State is hiring Tom Allen (the former Indiana head coach) as its defensive coordinator.
“The 2020 Big Ten coach of the year always seemed like a name that fits what Penn State was trying to achieve with its defense,” Nittany Lions Wire wrote. “With Diaz leaving for the head coaching position at Duke, another defensive head coach with a lot of experience always seemed like a likely option for Franklin and Penn State.
“Allen runs a 4-2-5 defense, which places a heavy emphasis on the defensive line, which should be a strength of next year’s team. His Indiana team played Penn State tough this year, with the Nittany Lions eventually pulling away for a 33-24 win.”
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