Section B · Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
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Wednesday, April 29, 1998
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Coach's door always open for players needing advice
Lynn has accepted the repercussions of being a coach's wife and understands that her husband's job is not an average 9-to-5 commitment.
Continued from page 1B
"In coaching there are really three seasons," Lynn said. "There's in the-season, when he's coaching the players; the recruiting season, when he's recruiting the players; and the summer season, when he's recruiting the fans. He does camps and goes on golf outings, all trying to get more support for the team."
Growing up a coach's son gave Allen a taste of what his life would be.
"When I was in the ninth-grade I was your basic can't-walk and -chew-gum-at the-same-time type of guy," Allen said. "I was 5-foot-3 and had size 13 feet. Talk about uncoordinated. I hadn't hit my growth spurt yet and I never got to play."
He dreamed of achieving football success and was determined to play quarterback in high school. There was only one thing in his way—his size.
All that changed the following year when Allen sprouted into a 6-foot athlete, growing more than nine inches in one year. Allen's dreams came true in his junior season when he was named the starting quarterback for Iowa City West High School and led the emerging program to 6-3 and 5-4 records in his final two years.
"The best thing that happened to me was UNI came along and offered me a scholarship," Allen said. "It got me away from home and I was able to go to school two hours away and play quarterback and do the things I wanted to do. It got me into being an adult a little bit earlier than a person who goes to school in their own community. It was a great thing to happen."
Allen's awkward adolescence blossomed into all-state accolades and paved the way for a grand opportunity.
Allen was the Panthers' starting quarterback for three seasons and although he was headed in the right direction on the football field, he was beginning to question what he wanted to do after college. He spent the first half of his college career as a pre-med student but soon felt himself drawn to coaching.
"One day I came home and told my dad that what I really wanted to do was coach," Allen said. "He said You know, you're crazy, but you probably won't enjoy anything any more."
His father's advice has proven true and Allen has impressed his players with his easygoing style and his genuine love for the game.
After tolling in former coach Glen Mason's
totalitarian regime for his first two seasons, senior offensive tackle Dan Dercher said that Allen has made the game fun again.
"I actually like going to practice now," Dercher said. "He's still tough on you, but he's always building you back up, too. He's a great guy. I couldn't be happier."
Allen's dad would be proud to hear that.
Allen still recalls the opportunity to give back to his father some of what he had given to him, when he saved his dad's life one afternoon.
"I was home from college during the summer and my father had a heart attack," Allen said. "I gave him CPR and he lived for 10 more years. You know how you go through those phases with your parents, well those 10 years were the best 10 years in our relationship."
Terry Allen's career took its biggest hit in early 1989. The evening before Allen was to be named the youngest head coach in Division I-A or I-AA at the age of 31, his father died of a heart attack.
"It was an opportunity for me to mature very quickly," Allen said. "There's a saying that you really don't become a man until you lose your father or become a father yourself. There's a lot of truth to that."
But as Allen was trying to cope with the death of his father and adjust to his new job, he made a mistake that would become what he now calls the best learning experience of his life.
Two months after ascending to the top spot at Northern Iowa, Allen was a keynote speaker at the Iowa High School Football Association convention in Jefferson, Iowa.
"I sat around with the boys and proceeded to drink too much beer and I was arrested for a DUI returning to Cedar Falls," Allen said. "At the age of 31, and having just become the head coach, and being single, and getting arrested, it was definitely a part of the maturing process. It made me wake up and smell the roses."
"In the last 10 years I haven't as much as smelled a drink and gotten behind the wheel—nor will I ever again." Allen said.
Allen said that it also helped him recognize the dangers of mixing alcohol and driving.
Allen parlayed his personal development into success on the football field. With Allen as the coach, Northern Iowa qualified for the 16-team Division I-AA playoffs in seven consecutive seasons, compiled a 48-4 record at home and a 40-7 mark in conference play. Allen coached 34 All Americans and produced four players who now are in the NFL — Bryce Paup, Kenny Shedd, James Jones and Dedric Ward.
Kansas offensive coordinator Bill Salmon worked for Allen for seven years at Northern
Iowa before following him to Lawrence. Salmon said that Allen's success is a result of his personality.
"He is just such a nice guy to work for." Salmon said. "He's very knowledgeable and he gets the most out of his players and coaches. There's a reason he here."
Allen said that he was one of the final two candidates for the Minnesota head coaching job before the Gophers unexpectedly hired Mason. This opened up the Kansas position and Allen was available.
"I didn't even know if I wanted to get involved with the KU job," Allen said. "Thank goodness I did, because of all the opportunities I've had, this is the best fit for me."
Allen said that Kansas has provided him with everything he was looking for—a Midwestern location, a large university in a small community, great academics and a well-known athletic tradition.
About the same time he came to Lawrence, Allen achieved something else he had been looking for—the chance to be a father.
"I was young to become a head coach but I was old to become a father," said Allen, who is 40. "I have two little kids now and I don't like being away from them."
Allen also doesn't like to be away from his wife. They reserve one night a week for themselves.
"Thursday night is date night," Lynn said. "We have a sister reserved for every week and it gives us a chance to just sit down and talk to each other."
Although Allen has matured, you can still see what he learned at his father's side.
"What I like most about coaching football is that I get to be around people who are 18-23 years old," Allen said. "And at 2:30 or 3:00 every day I can go out to that field with a bunch of guys who can bond together and get something accomplished.
"You have to have a belief and a plan and you have to believe that plan can be successful. If you demonstrate that you care about your players and surround yourself with quality assistants that know the game, you can be successful."
Terry Allen said that he wants his players to remember him as someone who cared, someone they liked playing for and someone who won games.
"It doesnt do any good to be a nice guy if you don't win," Allen said. "And it's not a lot of fun if you win and you're an SOB. If your players realize that they had fun and that they won, what more can you ask for?"