Penn State Board of Trustees Schedules Human Resources Committee Meeting. Could Defensive Coordinator Hire Be Imminent?

Updated Jan. 16, 2025.

Penn State’s Board of Trustees’ Committee on Equity and Human Resources has cancelled one of two meetings it scheduled earlier this week, perhaps signaling the near conclusion to a search for its football program’s vacant defensive coordinator position. 

Tom Allen, who served in the role this past season, was announced as Clemson’s defensive coordinator on Tuesday.

The first meeting, which was scheduled to begin with an executive session at 10 a.m. ET followed by a public session at 10:45 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, has been cancelled. The second remains scheduled for an executive session at 9 a.m. ET and public session at 9:45 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 20.

An agenda for Monday’s meeting was published on Thursday, and has “personnel matter” as the only order of business. That was the same item labeled to the agendas that preceded the hires of Allen and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki in December 2023.

It’s the duty of Penn State’s HR committee to approve the compensation of any hire or promotion that exceeds that of the university president at any point in the contract. Two meetings originally scheduled, rather than one, could suggest a fluid timeline, and a coaching hire would likely fit that bill.

Such meetings have been the standard operating procedure ahead of recent high-profile hires, including Kotelnicki and Allen, as well as pay raises and contract changes, such as James Franklin’s contract amendment on Nov. 29 to reflect updated bonuses and athletic director Pat Kraft’s contract extension on Aug. 26.

Contract terms requiring board approval were previously handled by the former Subcommittee on Compensation, but those duties were assumed by the Committee on Equity and Human Resources with a revision to committee structures in mid-2024.

Allen departed the Nittany Lions after just one season. His unit ranked eighth nationally in points per game allowed, and was instrumental in carving out a path for the program to reach the College Football Playoff semifinal.