After seven seasons with the program, Indiana has fired head football coach Tom Allen, Indy Star’s Zach Osterman first reported. Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde confirmed the report on Sunday morning.
The Hoosiers lost 35–31 to rival Purdue on Saturday, moving its season record to 3–9. This marks Allen’s third straight losing season in his tenure at Indiana. The team only won nine games combined in the past three seasons, including 2023.
The 53-year-old had two winning seasons with the Hoosiers since being hired in 2017. The team went 8–5 in 2019, then 6–2 in ‘20.
Allen finishes his Indiana career with a 33–49 overall record and an 18–43 record in Big Ten matchups.
He released a statement to Yahoo! Sports’s Ross Dellenger about his time at Indiana.
Statement from fired Indiana coach Tom Allen, which notes that IU should “embrace” the changing environment around college football (ie: NIL). pic.twitter.com/WPOJpan0Pi
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 26, 2023
Allen will earn around a $20 million contract buyout after being fired. The record was shattered earlier this month when Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher with his roughly $75 million buyout.
Indiana will begin a coaching search immediately. No names have initially been mentioned for consideration.