IU football coach Tom Allen likely to get a big raise after this season

Zach Osterman | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption IU Insider: Zach Osterman recaps win over Northwestern Indiana Hoosiers defeat the Northwestern Wildcats 34-3 on Nov. 2, 2019

BLOOMINGTON – Fred Glass reiterated Monday his intention to hand football coach Tom Allen a substantial raise after the current IU football season.

Allen’s success — the Hoosiers are 7-2 and enjoying their best season since at least 2007 — triggered speculation he might be of interest in Florida State’s coaching search.

His 17 wins (and counting) over his first three seasons are the most for an Indiana coach in the post-World War II era.

“As I publicly suggested before the season and publicly reaffirmed a week or so ago, I expect to do a new contract with Tom,” Glass, IU's athletic director, told IndyStar via text message.

More: Patience pays for IU football running back Stevie Scott

More: IU's Coy Cronk reflects on season-ending injury

Multiple outlets, including the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic, mentioned Allen as a possible candidate in Tallahassee, considering Allen’s Florida ties. The one-time Ben Davis High School coach started his career coaching at the high school level in Florida and later served for one season as defensive coordinator at South Florida. He has pulled recruits to Indiana out of Jacksonville, Tampa and Miami.

Florida State fired coach Willie Taggart over the weekend. The Seminoles are 4-5 this season and were 5-7 last year, Taggart's first.

While it’s not clear how much firm interest FSU would have in Allen, Glass said he would expect any new contract to both reflect Allen’s work in Bloomington, and be constructed to ward off potential outside interest in hiring him away.

A USA Today database of FBS head coaches’ salaries suggests Allen, who makes roughly $1.8 million per year, is the lowest-paid coach in the Big Ten. His salary will likely top $2 million at minimum after this season, as Allen has already triggered $200,000 in bonuses for reaching seven wins.

Glass has repeatedly stated that he intended to extend Allen at some point during the life of his current contract, which runs through 2022.

Speaking after IU’s 38-31 win at Nebraska on Oct. 26, a win that secured bowl eligibility for the first time in Allen’s tenure, Glass said he planned to extend Allen whether he reached a bowl game or not. So an extension/renewal this offseason won’t have come simply because Allen’s name came up in connection with other jobs.

“If the ball had bounced the wrong way and we’d ended up with five wins again, I’d still have wanted to extend him,” Glass said after the Nebraska win. “I see what’s going on with this team. Eighty of our 115 guys are freshmen and sophomores. They represent the two greatest classes in the history of IU football recruiting.

“This program is going in the right direction. I didn’t need to see six wins to validate that, but of course getting to six wins and going to a bowl game is a hell of a fun deal, and hopefully it’s another brick in the wall.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.