IU's Tom Allen goes out with a whisper

His voice was gone after the Bucket game, and soon, he will be, too. He's 9-27 overall and 3-24 in the Big Ten the last three years. Appreciate the man and his spirit, but...It's time for a change.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – He went out with a whisper. After seven years, this will be the last time we see (and barely hear) Tom Allen as the head coach of the IU football program.

By the time the Hoosiers head coach made it to the post-game press conference room in the bowels of Ross-Ade Stadium, his voice was gone, reduced to little more than a breathy rasp. It’s normal for his voice to be diminished after a game, but after this one, a 35-31 Bucket loss to Purdue, he had nothing left to give.

The man put his heart and soul (and his voice) into this program and had a two-year stretch when IU twice played in New Year’s bowl games, but now, after three straight miserable years – we’re talking 2-win, 4-win and 3-win seasons – it’s time for athletic director Scott Dolson to pull the plug. (This is the same AD who paid through the nose to retain Allen back when he was a semi-hot commodity after 2019 and 2020). They found the $10.3 million to buy out Archie Miller. Now it’s time to check back with the donors yet again.

Fans keep asking, “Can IU, the losingest football program in Division I history, afford to buy out the $20.8 million it’s going to take to send Allen on his way?”