John Allen is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player. He is currently the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator for the

UConn Huskies football The UConn Huskies football team is a college football team that represents the University of Connecticut in the sport of American football. The team competes in NCAA Division I FBS as an Independent. Connecticut first fielded a team in 1896, and ...

team, a position he assumed in November 2021. He was the head football coach at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. Allen also served as the head coach of the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

in 2007, compiling a record of 2–8. He played football as a wide receiver at James Madison University.

Playing career

Allen played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at James Madison University. A three-year starter at James Madison, he was a wide receiver and

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

for the

Dukes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

and was a captain his senior season.

Coaching career

Allen's first season in NFL Europa league was in 2003 when he served as wide receivers coach of Thunder. His year with them was Allen's first on the professional coaching level, having previously enjoyed successful jobs at

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

(2002) and

Lock Haven University Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (LHU) is a public university in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The main campus consists of and the branch campus covers . It offers 69 undergraduat ...

, where he worked for six years, rising to the position of offensive coordinator. His influence on Berlin Thunder was clearly visible in 2003 as seven of his receivers caught 15 passes or more and Berlin scored 20 times on touchdown passes to rank overall second in the NFL Europa League. When Allen moved on to another NFL Europa team in 2004, the Amsterdam Admirals, he guided Amsterdam's offense to second in the league’s offensive rankings, averaging 316.6 yards per game. Furthermore, two of the top three positions in receiving yards were occupied by Admiral players. In 2005 Amsterdam went one better under Allen's guidance and supervision and established NFL Europa's most potent attack, averaging no less than 357.4 yards and 25.1 points per game. In 2006 the Admirals once again led the league with 25.9 points per game and ranked second in total offense, averaging 332.3 yards game. Allen served as Coordinator of Player Personnel & Development at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

from 2008 to 2010. On March 7, 2011, Allen was named as the new head coach of Lock Haven University football.

Head coaching record

College

Professional

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, John Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American football wide receivers Amsterdam Admirals coaches Berlin Thunder coaches Bucknell Bison football coaches James Madison Dukes football players Lock Haven Bald Eagles football coaches Pennsylvania State University staff UConn Huskies football coaches African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople