Tom Allen: It's Still Early, But is There a Case for the Greatest Hoosiers Coach?

In the world of college football, there are few teams that have built themselves quite the same level of cult following over the years as Indiana University Bloomington football has.

More commonly known as the Hoosiers, this fan favorite team have been a NCAA Division I stalwart for decades and have helped to firmly establish Indiana University as a football school.

And although the Hoosiers football team doesn't have quite the same NCAA resume as their brothers on the basketball team, the last few years have been incredibly fruitful.

In fact, the Hoosiers football team have begun to experience so much success over the last few seasons, that there is even talk of the Hoosiers football team undergoing a “renaissance”. The sure sign that the Hoosiers are undergoing a renaissance is to be found in the fact that even in circumstances where they put on a dominating display against an opponent, our attention immediately turns towards what improvements we can make going forward. This is a sign that our expectations of what the Hoosiers are capable of is beginning to shift.

With that said, the Hoosiers are certainly attracting a considerable amount of buzz as we look forward to the 2021 season. And if, according to WSN.com, the numbers on the DraftKings sportsbook are anything to go by, there is as much anticipation behind the Hoosiers as ever this season!

As with any sporting success like the Hoosiers, behind every successful team there is a successful coach. The aforementioned basketball team has hosted legends like Branch McCracken and Bob Knight at Assembly Hall.

So who have been the most important Hoosiers coaches to grace the Hoosier sidelines over the years?

Tom Allen: A Legend in the Making?

Although much of the recent success that the Hoosiers football team are experiencing can be traced back directly to the coaching decisions of Tom Allen, when he was first pegged to take over the team there was considerable skepticism as to whether the right choice was being made.

To a certain extent, this skepticism was entirely warranted. Up until he took over from Kevin Wilson after his resignation in December 2016, Tom Allen had served in mainly subordinate positions on the coaching staff of his previous teams. Although he had by that stage built up a very respectable career as a defensive coordinator for teams like South Florida, linebackers coach for Ole Miss, and assistant head coach for Arkansas state—amongst a number of other postings—it wasn’t clear that Tom Allen was head coach material just yet.

Circumstances changed following the shock resignation of Hoosiers head coach Kevin Wilson, which saw Indiana athletic director Fred Glass name Allen as head coach just as they were heading into the final game of the season.

Although a somewhat rocky start, Allen quickly put himself to work by focusing on changing the team’s approach to recruiting. This saw Allen assembling the highest-rated program in the team’s history with the 2019 signing class.

This approach was eventually mirrored on the pitch and by his third season, Allen had already led the Hoosiers to their first 7-2 start since the 1993 season. As a result, Indiana finally cracked into the top twenty-five ranking in the Associated Press and Coaches poll—a spot they hadn’t earned since 1994. Within the first three seasons, Allen had amassed the highest number of wins for an Indiana coach since the World War 2 era.

Since then, Allen has consistently delivered results as head coach. And in the 2020 regular season, secured a number of top ten rankings across the AP poll, the coaches’ poll, and the CFP rankings. This earned him the honor of being named 2020 Big Ten Coach of the Year, as well as the AFCA Coach of the Year.

How does Allen compare to the previous Hoosier greats?

Although Allen’s resume with the Hoosiers is already looking pretty well packed, it is still too early to say whether he will enter the hallowed halls of the all-time greats.

The most obvious comparison is to Bo McMillin who between 1934 and 1947 secured the Hoosiers their only Big Ten Championship win. McMillin also garnered a career record of 63-48-11 and a Big Ten record of 34-34-6. For his efforts, McMillin was recognised as Coach of the Year on several occasions and is widely considered as one of the best coaches to have ever graced Memorial Stadium.

Another interesting comparison to make is Bill Mallory. Mallory had an illustrious career as a coach at Miami University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Northern Illinois University, and Indiana University. Despite this impressive resume, it was with the Hoosiers that Mallory had his best run, where he spent twelve years as head coach. And as one of the few coaches to have been awarded back-to-back Big Ten coach of the year honors, Mallory can also make a claim to being one of the most decorated. After a little over a decade at the helm, Mallory amassed a record of 66-77-3 overall, with 39-65-1 in the Conference. He also led the Hoosiers to six bowl games, including wins at the Liberty Bowl and Copper Bowl.

Whilst these stats are certainly hard to beat, Tom Allen looks like he could reach these heights before long. With that said, the 2021 season will be an important next step for Tom Allen as he looks to build momentum.