Penn State DC Contenders After Tom Allen’s Shock Clemson Move

Penn State football opened its largest coaching position available on Monday. Tom Allen stunned by leaving his defensive coordinator position at Clemson.

Now the former DC from one College Football Playoff qualifier is entering another. Allen’s move comes one day after the All-Star rush Abdul Carter has declared for the 2025 NFL Draft.

So PSU now has to trade its best linebacker and defensive coordinator at the same time. The era of transfer and recruitment portals makes replacing Carter easy. Head coach James Franklin and the company, however, gets the hard part: finding the right coach to lead this defense.

This position is rising as the top defensive coordinator job in the Big 10 Conference. Who looks like the standout candidates? Here are the best replacement options.

Al Golden, Notre Dame defensive coordinator

Siphoning Golden can mitigate the damage of the Orange Bowl loss to Penn State.

Golden helped build a defensive scheme that slowed Penn State’s high-powered offense. Drew Allar only threw for 135 yards. The explosive running back duo of Keitron Allen and Nicholas Singleton failed to reach 100 yards. And the latter was forced to settle for a touchdown in the red zone.

However, the 55-year-old would get a homecoming if he were hired as Penn State’s DC. He played for the Nittany Lions from 1988 to 1991. Golden also coached linebackers in 2000 at PSU.

Elijah Robinson, Syracuse defensive coordinator

Throwing in another PSU defender. The 39-year-old was also once on the offensive line for the Nittany Lions.

What’s more, Robinson got his start in coaching in State College — going from graduate assistant to defensive line coach in 2011. He even served as director of community relations for Penn State.

The Orange, however, fell to 14th overall in defense among Atlantic Coast Conference teams. Syracuse also allowed the fourth-most points among the 17 ACC members. But Robinson still has deep ties to the school. He also coached in the Southeastern Conference leading the Texas A&M defensive line and briefly took over for Jimbo Fisher as interim head coach.

D’Anton Linn, USC defensive coordinator

We have another former Nittany Lions star to follow. Lin played as a cornerback from 2008 to 2011.

The CFB world now knows Lin as a hot young coordinator. He lifted UCLA to No. 11 in total defense for the 2023 season. Lynn later improved USC’s defense by reducing the scoring. The Trojans went from the nation’s 121st-ranked defense in 23 years to 57th.

Lin will be in his third straight coaching stint starting in 2023. But PSU can bring the former Nittany Lion home.

Kevin Coile, former Fresno State defensive coordinator

Now it’s time to look at the surprise name. But a coordinator that makes a lot of sense when you dive into the credentials.

Kevin Coile didn’t just produce one of the best defensive units in the Mountain West Conference. He comes with a deep resume that includes NFL stops.

Coile spent 2001-2011 with the Cincinnati Bengals as their defensive backs coach. He later led the Miami Dolphins defense from 2012 to 2015 during an era led by Cameron Wake and Brent Grimes. But more than that, Coile has deep East Coast ties that should win PSU over — as he’s from Staten Island, New York and coaches at Holy Cross and Syracuse.

Johnny Nansen, Texas co-defensive coordinator

Nansen appears as an outside hire in a similar fashion to Coile. Except his Cotton Bowl and past work could win over Franklin.

Nansen joined Pete Kwiatkowski in limiting explosive Ohio State wide receiver Jeremy Smith to just one catch for three yards last Friday. PSU can pick his brain on how to bottle Smith in the coming years by recruiting him. But Texas built the SEC’s best defense in its first season as a full member of the conference — with Nansen overseeing the linebackers.

Nansen became an Arizona favorite assisting Jed Fish in the Wildcats’ 10-3 turnaround in 2023. Franklin and PSU are handing him the full reins of the defense if they transfer him.

Elsewhere, Penn State has in-house options to choose from if the Lions don’t want to conduct a national search. Anthony Poindexter served as the defensive coordinator at Happy Valley for four seasons while also running the safeties. Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Aiir Brown turned into future top two NFL draft picks under him. Poindexter comes with previous experience in D.C., spending 2014-2016 leading the UConn staff.

Deion Barnes is the last option, but within Franklin’s staff. Barnes coach led Carter’s stellar campaign in 2024. He would be promoted from defensive line coach.