Redskins.com recently caught up with former running back Terry Allen to recall his time in Washington while providing an update as to what he's up to currently.
While he was wearing different colors, there was a familiar face to the Washington Redskins in Mobile, Ala., at last week's Senior Bowl: former running back Terry Allen.
Allen recently completed his first season with the Arizona Cardinals as the Bill Bidwill Fellowship/running backs coach. According to his Cardinals bio, Allen is the program's second participant and follows Levon Kirkland in the fellowship that was established by the Cardinals to provide recently-retired minority NFL players with the opportunity to gain coaching experience at the highest level. It is a two-year program.
"I think it's a good program because, again it's for two years, and you're there, you're doing everything football-wise," Allen told Redskins.com. "It gives you an opportunity to find out whether or not you really like it. Everybody thinks they want to be a coach but when you put the time in, and realize just how much it takes to being a coach, it can change your mind, but I've truly loved it and enjoyed it."
Prior to his arrival in Arizona, Allen spent time at his alma mater of Clemson working with the football program while earning his degree in Business Management. Despite the long hours, his passion for the sport reemerged.
"I was there for two years, got a National Championship with those guys which was great, finished up my degree and everything there while I was doing that and just fell back in love with football," Allen said.
Prior to his time in the coaching ranks, Allen played 11 seasons in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens and Washington.
After spending his first four seasons with the Vikings (he ran for 1,000 yards twice with Minnesota), Allen joined the Redskins prior to the 1995 season. In his first season in Washington, Allen rushed for 1,309 yards and 10 touchdowns.
His 1996 season, though, still ranks among the best for a running back in franchise history, as Allen carried the ball 347 times for 1,353 yards and 21 touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl nod along with a second-team All-Pro selection.
The 1,353 rushing yards were the sixth-most by a Redskins running back in a single season and his 21 touchdowns on the ground is the second-most behind John Riggins' 24 touchdowns in 1983.
In total, Allen started all 52 of his appearances with the Redskins, rushing for more than 4,000 yards and 37 touchdowns. He is one of the 80 Greatest Redskins.
"That's a lot of memories," Allen said of his time with the Redskins. "But the thing I remember the most is the guys that were there. It was just a great group of guys and we had fun. It was a close knit team, didn't win as much as we'd like to have, but it was just great. The city itself, the fans, I mean, that I truly miss."
