Philip Blidi experienced first hand what ‘LEO’ means to Tom Allen and Indiana football

Love each other or ‘LEO’ is not just something Indiana football head coach Tom Allen preaches, but it is a way of living life for him.

Indiana football’s culture has been focused on being there for one another and ‘LEO’ is at the center of it for Allen and his program. When it comes time, Allen is going to do whatever he can to help his players because that is the kind of person and coach he is.

Allen did just that when Indiana defensive lineman Philip Blidi called him in a time of need. It didn’t matter that he had only just recently transferred to Indiana from Texas Tech or that Allen had just gotten back from a long day on the road. Allen was there for his player because that’s who Tom Allen is.

Last winter, Blidi’s wife, Emma, was pregnant with the couple’s second child when complications with her pregnancy caused her to be hospitalized. That’s when disaster struck. Emma needed an emergency C-section while Blidi was in another state.

Blidi had flown back to Texas with the couple’s first daughter, who was only two years old at the time, to have their family take care of her while they dealt with Emma’s complications.

With Blidi away and new to Bloomington, his wife was alone at the hospital. That’s when he turned to his new coach.

“He called me just kind of freaking out like, ‘coach, I don’t know what to do … I’m already gone and nobody’s there’,” Allen said about Blidi’s call to him that night. “I said, ‘hey I’ll be right there’. I dropped everything, I literally just got home from being on the road and stopped anything I was doing and went right to the hospital.

“They’re pretty empty words if it’s just a slogan on the wall. … When life is really hard and coach isn’t there for you, then I don’t think it means a whole lot. When things aren’t easy that’s when you have a chance to show its real.”

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Allen’s daughter, who is a nurse at the hospital, helped him get to Emma so he was able to be there for Blidi and his family during a difficult time. Allen said he ended up being the first one to see Emma after she got out of surgery.

“I love our players, I’ll be there for them regardless. I think that’s who I have always been as a coach,” Allen said.

The love Allen has for his players is why they love to play for him. It’s not a facade with Allen, LEO is everything to him and his actions reflect that.

“Coach Allen is one of the most genuine men I’ve ever met,” Blidi said via Twitter. “Our family is so thankful for the Allen’s and the continued support from our Hoosier Fam.”

Allen’s connection to his players is strong and his actions only emphasize that, but the feeling between him and his players is mutual, as they will do almost anything for their coach.

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Blidi emphasized that feeling when asked about his relationship with his coach.

“I’ll run through a wall for him,” Blidi said about Allen.

In 2022 with Texas Tech, Blidi recorded 18 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in 12 games for the Red Raiders. After a poor 2022 for Indiana’s defense, Allen will look to Blidi and some of the other new faces on the defensive line to help lead the defense.

Transferring from Texas Tech to Indiana with his wife and children could not have been easy for Blidi, but Allen’s commitment to his players has helped him with the process and buy into ‘LEO’ and what it means to Indiana football.

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