James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions made the biggest non-head coaching hire of the college football offseason on Sunday as they have found their next defensive coordinator in Ohio State's Jim Knowles.
Oklahoma radio voice Toby Rowland was the first to report the move on Sunday afternoon. Sources have confirmed to Happy Valley Insider that Knowles is expected to take the job.
The Nittany Lions landed Knowles despite interest from the Oklahoma Sooners in making Knowles their program's next defensive coordinator, and of course, the Ohio State Buckeyes. Knowles with the Nittany Lions will become the highest-paid coordinator in all of college football.
The latest reports have that potential salary at $3.2 million. The original agreement between Knowles and Penn State came on Friday, sources also tell Happy Valley Insider.
That being said, Knowles, less than a week after winning the national championship with the Buckeyes is now coming to Happy Valley. He'll replace former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen who left earlier this month for the defensive coordinator job at Clemson, sighting the desire to be closer to family as his motivation for making the jump.
The Nittany Lions' defense under Allen in 2024 was excellent, allowing less than 300 yards per game while posting the eighth-best scoring defense in the country, allowing just 16.5 points per game.
Knowles was originally a target for Penn State in 2022 when the Nittany Lions eventually hired then ousted Miami head coach Manny Diaz. Once Knowles arrived in Columbus, he turned around a struggling Ohio State defense into one of the best in the country.
In 2021, before Knowles arrived in Columbus, Ohio State allowed 246.2 passing yards per game and had the nation's 38th-ranked scoring defense. In each of his three seasons with the Buckeyes, their total yards allowed and scoring defense improved. In 2023, the Buckeyes posted the No. 2 scoring defense in the country while this season, their defense was the nation's best, allowing just 12.9 points per game. The Buckeyes also only allowed 254.6 yards per game.
Other previous stops for Knowles include Oklahoma State as their defensive coordinator from 2018 through 2021 and Duke from 2010 through 2017. Before his time as the Blue Devils defensive coordinator, he spent six seasons as the head coach of the Cornell Big Red of the Ivy League.
Notably, Penn State with Knowles will continue to run a defense that is predicated on the 4-2-5 with safety play as an emphasis of his defenses. When having the personnel to do so, Knowles likes to use three safeties heavily, something that Penn State also looked to do quite a bit in 2024, especially before KJ Winston suffered a season-ending injury in early September.
While Penn State's defense is by no means in disarray and is in a better spot than Ohio State's defense was in when Knowles arrived in Columbus in 2021, the hire for the Nittany Lions is still one that will help elevate the program's defense.
The hiring is also one that further announces Penn State's arrival as a program ready to be considered amongst the nation's elite. In 2024, the Nittany Lions made their first College Football Playoff after narrowly missing several times since 2016 and fell one win short of making the national championship game.
Now, the Nittany Lions have shown an extreme desire to continue to be amongst the nation's best programs year in and year out, by paying Knowles an unprecedented base salary of over $3 million. They also will have to pay a $1.2 million buyout in the process. The incentive and perk packages for Knowles are expected to be significant as well.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE.....
1988: Cornell (DL)
1989-1994: Cornell (RB)
1995-96: Cornell (LB / RC)
1997-2000: Western Michigan (DL)
2001-02:Western Michigan (DC)
2003: Ole Miss (LB / RC)
2004-09: Cornell (HC)
2010-11: Duke (DC / S)
2012-14: Duke (DC)
2015-17: Duke (DC / ILB)
2018-21: Oklahoma State (DC)
2022–2024: Ohio State (DC)
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