It was approaching 5 pm on Nov. 26, 2016. The third quarter of the Iron Bowl was as heated as ever.
Bama quarterback Jalen Hurts ran toward the sideline with an Auburn defender in hot pursuit. The Crimson Tide’s head athletic trainer quickly jumped out of Jalen’s way, but he never saw the Tigers’ safety.
The athletic trainer in charge of preventing injuries and treating them when they did happen was suddenly looking for an athletic trainer on the sideline.
“I was rocked off my feet,” Jeff Allen told me. “I broke my wrist and 3 ribs.
“The Auburn player tried his best to avoid me. It gave me more appreciation for what these athletes go through, and the Auburn safety was actually slowing down!”
He’s the last man standing from Nick Saban’s first Crimson Tide football staff. Jeff Allen’s official title is Senior Associate Athletic Director, Health and Performance at the University of Alabama.
The simple title? Head athletic trainer. He’s the person in charge of overseeing a department with 28 athletic trainers, seven primary care physicians and cutting-edge data and analytics that serves every university student-athlete. “We have a specialist for every body part,” chuckled Allen, who is now in his 19th year at the University of Alabama, his 37th year of working in his field.
Jeff Allen has always had a servant’s heart. “I was lucky to be raised in a home of faith,” said Allen. “I’ve always tried to keep the main thing the main thing.”
The main thing was and is faith, family and football.
He was but a teenager, and he had discovered his life dream
“I began to get interested in athletic training when I tore my ACL at a Johnny Majors youth camp in Knoxville,” said Allen. “Imagine that.”
It was 1994 when they met.
Marietta, Georgia’s Jeff Allen and Hartwell, Georgia’s Mary Ray were taking a psychology class together at Valdosta State University as they were both pursuing Master’s degrees. Sparks flew, and wedding vows were exchanged on June 15, 1996.
“I was really attracted to Jeff’s goals and dreams and wit,” Mary Allen told me. “Jeff has some great one-liners.”
Jeff Allen was off and running. He was an assistant athletic trainer at Valdosta State and Kentucky where he worked under legendary head athletic trainer Jim Madaleno. He became a head athletic trainer at both Chattanooga and Central Florida. “I learned so much from Jim Madaleno,” said Allen. “I learned about compassion and about building relationships.”
He was looking for a head athletic trainer in January of 2007. Nick Saban had just arrived in Tuscaloosa, and Bama assistant coach Lance Thompson suggested Coach Saban check out a man named Jeff Allen at Central Florida.
“Coach Saban was very impressed with Jeff’s interview,” former Crimson Tide Director of Sports Medicine Bill McDonald told me (McDonald was in his position from 1987 to 2010, and helped the program transition to a new athletic trainer).
Jeff Allen’s folksy style and spirited work ethic were a perfect match for the fiery head coach of the Crimson Tide.
“Jeff was the right person for Bama at the right time, and he’s the right person today,” added McDonald.
Said Allen, “Bill McDonald has been so important in my life.”
Would Coach Saban and Jeff Allen get along? Allen received a taste of his new boss’ urgency the day he was hired. Jeff Allen was hired on a Friday and asked Coach Saban if he could report to Tuscaloosa the next Tuesday so as to have time to wrap things up at UCF. “We have a kid’s camp this weekend,” said Coach Saban. Jeff Allen was on his way to the Capstone the following day.
They hustled into the Bama indoor practice facility after a thunderstorm chased them there. It was the first week of 2007’s fall camp, one of the first Bama team practices under the new head coach and new head athletic trainer. Coach Saban wanted his team to practice outdoors, so he asked Jeff Allen to keep an eye on the weather.
“You can bring the players back outside,” Jeff told his head coach a short time later. “The rain has passed.”
That’s when they heard the noise.
“We must have taken only a few steps outside when we heard a big crack of lightning. It looked as if the lightning had hit Coleman Coliseum,” said Allen.
“Coach Saban turned to me and said, ‘I hope you are a better athletic trainer than you are a weatherman.’”
A friendship was formed. Jeff Allen would spend all 17 years of Saban’s Tuscaloosa reign as Bama’s head athletic trainer. The pair would become trusted friends and co-workers.
So many athletes, so many victories. And as Bama’s 2009 national championship proved and Coach Saban said, it wasn’t the end, it was the beginning.
As the wins piled up, Jeff Allen’s outside-the-box thinking was key in preventing player injuries and healing those injuries more quickly using data, analytics and building relationships with the players.
The 2012 SEC Championship game went Bama’s way, and All-American offensive lineman Barrett Jones was hurting. He had torn ligaments in his left foot, and his dream of playing in another national championship game was all but dashed.
That’s when Jeff Allen stepped up.
“Jeff and I flew out to Oregon to NIKE headquarters after the SEC Championship game so I could be outfitted with a special shoe,” Jones, now working in wealth management in Memphis, told me.
“Jeff was part athletic trainer, part counselor,” Jones continued. “When you are injured and in the training room, it can be a dark place, but Jeff always kept things upbeat. It was good to have someone push you, but at the same time encourage you.”
Jeff Allen would be the first to tell you: With new breakthroughs, it’s not your father’s athletic training and sports medicine programs anymore. Allen has been at the forefront of discovering cutting-edge advancements. Today’s familiar sideline injury tent? Jeff Allen helped create it.
“At a program such as Alabama, everything we do is scrutinized,” said Allen. “Sideline medical care is crucial, but it was always distracting with fans and TV cameras capturing our every move. The tents are wonderful. It’s like being in a doctor’s office.”
Jeff Allen wishes there were never injuries to student-athletes, and he’s been a leader in finding ways to prevent them. He helped discover the Nordbord, a machine that measures hamstring strength. Using the machine, hamstring injuries declined. Allen and strength coach David Ballou have worked tirelessly to assure their athletes have every tool they need to prevent injuries.
He and his staff members use GPS devices to track player movement at practices and games. GPS can track athlete’s workloads, track rehab progress and help team athletic trainers and doctors reach informed medical treatment options. Allen’s department has deep relationships with medical providers throughout the area including UAB Medicine and Andrews Sports Medicine.
And don’t forget about the relationship between the athletic training staff and the strength and conditioning program. “David Ballou has done some amazing work,” Allen told me. “When you work at Bama, you cannot have an ego. The scripted ‘A’ is bigger than all of us. The training staff, strength and conditioning program and medical staff all work together for what is best for the university.”
Greg McElroy knows all about cutting-edge treatment. The former Bama quarterback broke two ribs in the 2009 SEC Championship game against the Florida Gators. Would McElroy be healthy enough to play in the national championship game against Texas?
“Jeff did everything he could to make me as comfortable as possible in that title game,” McElroy, now an ESPN analyst and Birmingham radio host, told me. “Jeff went out and found a bone stimulator, a graphite rib protector. He did tons of research to help me feel better.
“You could see his wheels spinning,” added McElroy, who says Allen will go to bat for any athlete. “In many ways, Jeff is the backbone of the operation.”
Jeff Allen has treated hundreds, if not thousands of athletes over his 19 years at Bama. I asked him if there has been an athlete he will always remember for being tougher than most.
“Tua’s injury was tough to see — he showed true character — and don’t forget Kenyan Drake,” said Allen. “The toughness he showed while at the university was amazing.”
It was a stretch that tested an athlete’s resolve. Kenyan Drake injured his ankle his junior season, and late in 2015, his senior season, he broke his arm.
“I was walking Kenyan to the locker room after the arm injury, and he told me, ‘My career at Alabama is not going to end like this’,” said Allen. “Even I was wondering if Kenyan would play at Bama again.”
Kenyan Drake not only played again, he played in the national championship game against Clemson on January 11, 2016.
“To see Kenyan return that kick 95 yards and reach out for the endzone with the right arm he had broken was very emotional,” said Allen.
Compassion. Jeff Allen has that to go along with his detailed work ethic.
“I’ve worked with some of the best doctors and athletic trainers in the world, and Jeff Allen is among the best,” said Crimson Tide team doctor of 25 years Lyle Cain, a physician at Andrew’s Sports Medicine in Birmingham. “Jeff is unique in that he’s very organized and he’s very trustworthy. That comes across to the players. They put their total trust in him and that makes our lives better.”
That attention to detail, the work ethic and organization? Jeff Allen tells me the GOAT has had a little something to do with that.
“Watching Coach Saban show us that no detail is too small has helped me,” said Allen. “Every detail during his day is down to the minute, and the power of habit is important to him and all of us.
“Coach (Kalen) DeBoer is the same way. At any time during the day, you know what Coach DeBoer is doing. To see the way the players have bought into what Coach DeBoer is doing has been very exciting.”
As Jeff Allen embarks on his 19th season at Bama, it’s a servant’s heart that sets him apart from others. While he may not be the MVP (Most Valuable Person) on the Crimson Tide team, he would certainly garner a nomination.
“I am humbled and beyond grateful to (Director of Athletics) Greg Byrne and Coach DeBoer for giving me the opportunity to stay at Alabama,” Allen told me. “This place is special to me. I can’t thank them enough for continuing to allow me to be a part of an incredible program.”
Greg Byrne is grateful for having Jeff Allen on staff, as he tells me, “We are fortunate for all of the incredible people we have inside of Alabama Athletics supporting our student-athletes and fans, but when you think of one who exemplifies servant leadership and continual impact, there is no one better than Jeff Allen. He is trusted throughout our department and genuinely cares about our young people as well as the culture of our department.”
From being there for his players and Tuscaloosa residents after the April 27, 2011, tornadoes to helping the team navigate through the COVID pandemic (Bama won a national championship after the 2020 season), Jeff Allen has been there to share his heart. “2020 was the most challenging year of my 37-year career,” said Allen. “I was so proud of everyone in the organization for coming together. It was also my favorite championship because of all we had to overcome.”
2011, 2020, 2024. Pick a year, and Bama’s head athletic trainer has been there.
“When my son Jalen was at Bama, he and Terrion Arnold, and later Tyler Booker, would go to breakfast together every Friday at the Famous Waysider Restaurant in Tuscaloosa,” said Quentin Milroe. “Jeff was a sounding board for Jalen. He also taught my son about the responsibilities that came with being the quarterback of the Crimson Tide. You could see that Jeff meant a lot to Jalen, and Jalen meant a lot to Jeff.”
Jeff Allen also meant a lot to Coach Saban. As the GOAT has turned to broadcasting, Coach Saban is forever grateful for what his friend has brought the university, telling ESPN’s Chris Lowe in 2022: “You’re talking about a guy that’s as solid as it gets when it comes to the type of person he is, the professionalism he has, his work ethic, his attention to details, everything. All those things are top-shelf stuff.”
Jeff Allen
Photo by Kent GidleyCrimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics
Jeff Allen is 54 years old. That means he has many more years to stand up for the scripted “A” and make the Alabama family and his family proud.
“I have always respected my father,” said Makennah Allen-Todd, a former Crimsonette and now an assistant Crimsonette coach and first-year teacher at Verner Elementary School in Tuscaloosa. “The way my father leads and serves others makes me want to emulate him. Serving others is one reason I have become a teacher.”
Jeff and Mary Allen have been married 29 years. Mary has recently retired after spending years as a clinical instructor at the University of Alabama’s speech and hearing center. “Jeff has a true calling and a true purpose in life,” said Mary. “His servant’s heart is a direct result of God.”
And Jeff Allen himself?
While he continues to work long, hard hours, he has little issue with telling us what’s truly important in his life.
“At the end of my life, will I be able to tell God I was a good husband and a good father,” he asked. “Will I be able to say I was strong in my spiritual life? Will I be able to say I kept the main thing the main thing?”
And back to 2016 when Jeff Allen was bowled over at the Iron Bowl and broke his wrist and 3 ribs.
“I was in a perfect place when I was injured. With all those doctors and athletic trainers on hand, the safest place to be was on the sidelines,” Allen chuckled.
Happy and healthy, Jeff Allen sounded content.
I think he might just be at the Capstone for a while.
Rick Karle, who writes a weekly ‘Good News’ story, is a 25-time Emmy winner and a 43-year veteran of broadcast news who has lived and worked in Alabama for 35 years. You can find his work on Facebook at Rick Karle Good News. Send your story suggestions to: [email protected]
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.