They Fired Tom Allen!

[Banksyrules]

Needed to be done.

[cbp4iu]

Thank goodness.

[Jeff Flabjohns]

Yes!!!

[LamarCheeks]

We went from 8-5 (Gator Bowl) in what was a "normal" season in 2019, to 6-2 (Outback Bowl) and a top 10 ranking in the anomaly that was 2020, to 2-10 and an 0-fer in the B1G in 2021. 

Really dramatic and really weird dropoff. Was hard to see things getting turned back around after that. 

[Magnanimous]

Despite the team showing flashes of competency after Bell was let go, I think this was the right move. There had been too many boneheaded decisions the last few years and the momentum around the program completely bottomed out. 

I’ll say this though, Tom Allen in my opinion was the best IUFB coach in 40 years. Kevin Wilson made us look like an actual football team, but Allen took that foundation and started winning. In 2009 our secondary was our baseball team, and for a bit, Allen made us competent defensively for the first time in forever. Give Allen’s credit to the DeBoer and Womack all you want, he was the one hiring and winning with them. He also loved the program in a way we hadn’t seen since Hep was here.

My collegiate tenure at IU was all four years of Bill Lynch and (near) concluded with losing to Wisconsin 83-20. Coach Allen beat Wisconsin twice. Indiana has beaten Michigan twice since 1968. Coach Allen owns one of those victories. Nebraska may not be what they used to, but Coach Allen went into Lincoln in front of 90,000 fans and won. And Covid excuses be damned, there was one week in my life where I checked the AP poll and saw IU in the top 10. If there was an expanded playoff that year we would have made it.

I get that Coach Allen wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and the LEO schtick got old. With the transfer portal now available his Tampa recruiting pipeline also didn’t carry the weight it used to. I agree it’s time for a change and this program is at a crossroads. But Tom Allen gave us a few years of very competitive and exciting football, and that should not be lost in all of the “thank the Lord he’s gone” posts that are about to fill this thread for the next 24 hours. 

[RaceToTheTop]

He even could have saved his job….three very winnable games at the end of the year.  Blew leads in all of them.

[Demo]

Wish him the best. Will be interested to see what he decides to do next. He’s a rich guy. He certainly doesn’t need it. If he takes a year off he’ll be 55 before he’d coach again. Would he be interested in an FCS job? Does he want to be a P5 DC? 

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

FINALLY!!!

[LamarCheeks]

14 minutes ago, Magnanimous said:

I’ll say this though, Tom Allen in my opinion was the best IUFB coach in 40 years.

 

I was at IU during the height of the Mallory Era. Man, that was a lot of fun. 

Dominating OSU for a two-year run. Beating them and Michgan in the same season. The shootout between Hartleib and Schnell in B-town. Destroying South Carolina in the Liberty Bowl. Watching AT run all over Memorial Stadium. 

Good times. 

[Alford Bailey]

Good riddance. He was terrible and got paid an insane amount to be terrible.

[Rico]

What took so long?

[Brass Cannon]

I’m terms of bad contracts that is one. Ouch

[AKHoosier]

Hopefully the next announcement is a massive investment in our football program in terms of facility upgrades. 

[OliviaPope40]

36 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

He even could have saved his job….three very winnable games at the end of the year.  Blew leads in all of them.

Had those Bowl games we should have won and could have won.

[Hoosierfan2017]

Let’s gooooooo. Christmas came early. Now let’s not hire a goofball this time. 

[HinnyHoosier]

2 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Let’s gooooooo. Christmas came early. Now let’s not hire a goofball this time. 

Is there a non goofball out there who wants this job?

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

38 minutes ago, Demo said:

Wish him the best. Will be interested to see what he decides to do next. He’s a rich guy. He certainly doesn’t need it. If he takes a year off he’ll be 55 before he’d coach again. Would he be interested in an FCS job? Does he want to be a P5 DC? 

He's not even a good enough DC to go anywhere big. An FCS gig would be perfect for him.

[Brass Cannon]

1 minute ago, HinnyHoosier said:

Is there a non goofball out there who wants this job?

A undiscovered gem that will leave us after a stunning 3 years is our best hope at this point 

[Tasmanian Devil]

I've known Tommy since the early 80s (his family went to Grace Baptist Church in New Castle, where the brother of my best friends in high school was the Pastor). Always refer to him as Tommy because his dad was Tom Allen, once coach at New Castle.

As much as I hate it for the Allen family, this is the best for everyone involved. With the transfer portal and NIL, Allen was going to be behind the 8 ball in trying to recruit. 

IU now has to decide if they really want to have a winning football program or not. They don't have to be at the level of Alabama, Ohio State or Michigan. But there's no reason they can't be at the level of Wisconsin. 

They can be a consistent winner and occasionally contend for a conference championship. But the University has to be willing to invest in the program and provide the resources to be successful.

[Hoosierfan2017]

4 minutes ago, HinnyHoosier said:

Is there a non goofball out there who wants this job?

To take a job in a top 2 conference making $5+ million a year? I’d sure hope so.