Penn State is making a big move by bringing in Jim Knowles as their new defensive coordinator.
According to reports, Knowles is leaving Ohio State to join the Nittany Lions, where he is expected to become the highest-paid coordinator in college football history with a deal exceeding $3 million per year.
Ohio State DC Jim Knowles is expected to become the new defensive coordinator at Penn State, sources tell @YahooSports. The two sides are in the process of finalizing an agreement. Big hire for James Franklin.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 26, 2025
Knowles played a key role in Ohio State’s championship-winning defense, leading a unit that ranked first in the nation in both scoring and total defense in 2024. Penn State, which finished in the top ten defensively last season, is looking to build on its success with this high-profile hire.
This marks Penn State’s third defensive coordinator in as many seasons, following the departure of Manny Diaz to Duke and Tom Allen’s move to become Clemson's Defensive Coordinator. Knowles, a Philadelphia native, brings extensive coaching experience, including previous stints at Oklahoma State and Duke.
As Penn State gears up for the 2025 season, Knowles’ hiring signals a major commitment to strengthening the defense and maintaining competitiveness in the Big Ten, but it misses the mark.
Nittany Lion fans will say what they want about Tom Allen at Penn State, but he wasn't the problem. The Nittany Lions weren't eliminated from the College Football Playoff because of their defense. They didn't lose to Ohio State in the regular season because of their defense. They didn't lose to Notre Dame because of the defense. They lost because they couldn't consistently score.
Drew Allar is getting a ton of praise for returning for 2025, and he'll be joined by Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton in the backfield, but there are still considerable questions on that side of the ball — particularly in the passing game. What about losing wide receivers like Harrison Wallace?
If Penn State is truly going to win a national title in 2025, it's the offense that needs to be addressed, not bringing in a defensive coordinator to make more than $3 million. Does it hurt to bring in Jim Knowles — who is probably an upgrade at the coordinator position? No, but it's also not going to improve the team leaps and bounds either.
Penn State was already elite on defense. Now, let's say that they become even more elite on defense. That's great, but it takes points to win. Ohio State didn't win the national championship by only playing defense. They got there because they had a quarterback in Will Howard who became a lethal weapon with both his arm and his legs, and they scored 42, 41, 28, and 34 in their playoff games.
Penn State, who may have had the easiest path of any team of the teams in the semifinals, put up more than 30 points in games against SMU and Boise State — several scores were helped by the defense forcing turnovers — and then could only muster 24 against Notre Dame in their loss.
Penn State needed a defensive coordinator and they went out and won the battle for one of the best in all of college football. For that, they should be commended.
However, if James Franklin wants to hoist the golden scepter next season, it's going to take more than just having an elite defense, he's going to need to improve, develop, and address the offense.