With Tom Allen’s hiring as Penn State’s defensive coordinator officially announced, Penn State Football again has a full staff for next season, at the moment.

However, although Allen brings a wealth of experience with him to Penn State Football, will the hiring cost the Nittany Lions another star assistant coach?

Officially official. ✔️

Welcome to Happy Valley, @CoachAllenPSU!#WeAre | https://t.co/r5k9xDdeMK pic.twitter.com/JWNRDqJLEF

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 19, 2023

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How Tom Allen Impacts Anthony Poindexter

Penn State safeties coach Anthony Poindexter was an internal option for promotion to defensive coordinator, after three seasons with the Nittany Lions as safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator.

Last Friday, Poindexter emerged as an excellent internal candidate after Penn State head coach James Franklin named Poindexter, along with analyst Robb Smith, as acting co-defensive coordinators for Penn State’s upcoming Peach Bowl.

In doing so, Franklin provided an update on Penn State’s defensive coordinator search, including the notion that Poindexter was being considered for the position.

“Anthony’s part of that discussion,” Franklin said of the long-term role. “We’ve had really good conversations, me and Anthony.”

Later that day during his own media appearance, Poindexter confirmed that he had “several conversations” with Franklin regarding the defensive coordinator vacancy.

Anthony Poindexter’s Role at Penn State Football

Poindexter will enter the 2024 season with 21 seasons of experience coaching, including over half of those seasons under the title co-defensive coordinator or defensive coordinator.

Before his tenure at Penn State, he was most recently the co-defensive coordinator at Purdue for four seasons and the defensive coordinator at UConn for three seasons. At Friday’s press conference, Franklin noted that Poindexter has “been phenomenal, he’s been awesome, he’s been extremely valuable.”

With Allen on board as Penn State’s next defensive coordinator, hopefully Franklin can keep Poindexter around the Nittany Lions program for a few more years.

Poindexter’s name recently came up in James Madison’s head coaching search and in UVA’s, Poindexter’s alma mater, coaching search in 2022. While Penn State cannot, and should not, stop Poindexter from taking a head coaching job somewhere else, it would be disappointing to see a talented coach leave for a somewhat lateral move to be the defensive coordinator elsewhere.

Now having waited through two defensive coordinator searches, Poindexter may be more anxious to take on a defensive play calling role before looking for or accepting a head coaching position.

It remains to be seen whether the coaching carousel has passed enough to keep Poindexter in State College for another season, but Allen hiring may have ultimately put a timeclock on Poindexter’s exit from the program for a promotion elsewhere.

MORE: Takeaways from Penn State’s Star Studded 2024 Recruiting Class

 

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