Fansided

25 worst coaching hires in the history of college basketball

By Joey Loose

LEXINGTON, KY - JANUARY 21: Head coach Billy Gillispie of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts to the action during the SEC game against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena on January 21, 2009 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - JANUARY 21: Head coach Billy Gillispie of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts to the action during the SEC game against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena on January 21, 2009 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Worst college basketball coach hires
IOWA CITY, IA – NOVEMBER 22: Head coach Jerome Allen of the Pennsylvania Quakers during the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes on November 22, 2013 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

9. Jerome Allen – Penn (2009-2015)

  • 65-104 record (5.5 seasons)

When you look at the Ivy League teams, there are a number of long NCAA Tournament droughts because just a few of those programs have been winning the conference titles across recent history, with one of those more successful programs being Penn. Former Temple coach Fran Dunphy took the Quakers to a ton of NCAA Tournaments during his tenure, but successor Glen Miller struggled in succeeding him. In December 2009, Miller was fired and the program turned to Jerome Allen to take over.

Before this point, Allen basically didn’t have any coaching experience. Himself a star player at Penn back in the early ’90s, his playing career had lasted the last fourteen years, with most of that overseas after a few seasons in the NBA. He was on the Penn staff briefly before Miller’s termination, but this program was putting a lot of trust in a former player.

The trust was clearly misplaced, as Allen later plead guilty to accepting bribes while as head coach of Penn. On the court, things weren’t much better, as he did lead the Quakers to a CBI run and a 20-win season in 2012, but was under .500 in his other five seasons at the helm. As a result of his penalties, Penn was placed on probation for two years, and Allen was given a record-breaking 15-year show-cause penalty, preventing him from returning to collegiate coaching until at least 2035. He’s currently an NBA assistant while Penn has bounced back under successor Steve Donahue.