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The college football coaching carousel took an unusual turn this offseason when Jim Knowles departed defending champion Ohio State for Penn State in a lateral move to become the Nittany Lions’ coordinator.
Knowles knows that his move was out of the ordinary as well. However, in a recent interview with ESPN, the new Penn State coordinator explained that his decision to leave Ohio State was born out of the program’s lack of a desire to get an extension with him done before its national championship game win.
“I did not want to put anyone, including myself, in a position to have to deal with it immediately following the national championship game,” Knowles told ESPN. “And that’s the way it happened.”
Knowles admitted that he “would not have explored or considered other options” had Ohio State offered him an extension prior to its title victory over Notre Dame, but things became “awkward” in the aftermath of the win as he still didn’t have a deal in place.
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“Season’s over, everything coming to a head again quickly,” Knowles said. “Ohio State hasn’t come forward with a deal, and it’s like, OK, if I’m going to act on this or at least explore it, I have got to make the call.”
Knowles called Penn State head coach James Franklin about the program’s defensive coordinator vacancy early in the morning two days after Ohio State’s championship win, according to ESPN. Not long after, Penn State and Knowles agreed to a deal that would make him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the nation with a $3.1 million salary. The deal also reportedly includes bonus money that could eclipse $1 million if the Nittany Lions win a national championship.
While the 65-year-old Knowles is a Pennsylvania native, the move was still widely considered to be a surprise in January. Knowles had helped Ohio State’s defense rank first in the nation in yards (254.6 per game) and points allowed (12.9 per game) in 2024. The Buckeyes were also top-three in both categories in 2023 as Knowles oversaw a unit that continued to get better after he was hired in 2022.
Texas & Ohio State in Joel Klatt’s Post-Spring top 5 teams
Now, Knowles, who has had previous stops with Oklahoma State and Duke as their defensive coordinator, will oversee a Penn State defense that might be just as good as the Ohio State unit he coached in 2024. Even though star linebacker Abdul Carter is no longer in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions’ defense is full of standouts. Dani Dennis-Sutton could replicate Carter’s production along the edge after he had 8.5 sacks in 2024. Defensive tackle Zane Durant, third-team All-Big Ten cornerback A.J. Harris and Zakee Wheatley (96 total tackles in 2024) all return from Penn State’s seventh-ranked defense last season.
That returning talent, along with the hiring of Knowles, led FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt to rank Penn State as his No. 1 team in the nation following spring practices. But Klatt is also high on Ohio State, too. He ranked the Buckeyes third after they replaced Knowles with Matt Patricia at defensive coordinator.
Penn State and Ohio State will meet in Columbus on Nov. 1, where the Nittany Lions will look to end the Buckeyes’ eight-game winning streak against them.
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