Penn State hires Jim Knowles from Ohio State, making him college football’s highest-paid defensive coordinator

Fresh off a national championship run with Ohio State, Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has accepted the same position at Big Ten rival Penn State, Matt Zenitz confirms. Though the exact numbers of the deal aren’t public yet, Knowles is expected to become the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the history of college football with a salary range north of $3 million annually, according to multiple reports. 

Knowles, a Philadelphia native with strong ties to the Northeast, transformed the Buckeyes’ defense during an impressive three-year stint. Ohio State ranked top three in total defense each of the past two seasons and led the nation by holding opponents to 254.6 yards per game and 4.2 yards per play during a historic campaign. 

Prior to Ohio State, Knowles emerged as a standout name at Oklahoma State, where he led the Cowboys to a top-five national defense and appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game in 2021. He previously had a standout stretch at Duke as a defensive coordinator and served as coach of Cornell, his alma mater, from 2004-2009. 

At Penn State, Knowles will be tasked with continuing to elevate one of the top defenses in college football. The Nittany Lions ranked No. 6 nationally under previous defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who left after one season to take the same position at Clemson. Despite three defensive coordinators in the past four seasons, the Nittany Lions have ranked top 10 nationally in defense each season. 

Knowles picked Penn State’s massive contract offer over major interest from Oklahoma and a strong push from Ohio State to keep him. Penn State will rank among the national favorites entering the 2025 season with the return of quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki also turned down head coaching interest to return to Happy Valley. 

Power move for Penn State

Penn State reached the semifinal round of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff and held a second-half lead to reach the national championship before falling just short vs. Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions have been energized by the performance and shelled out serious NIL money to contend in 2025. 

Perhaps just as significant, Penn State’s fortunes changed dramatically in 2024 with the hiring of Kotelnicki from Kansas, and he’s turned down head coaching opportunities to remain with the program in 2025. The Nittany Lions will be among the national favorites entering 2025. With back-to-back major coordinator hires, the Nittany Lions are acting like a historic blue-blood program. 

Unusual loss for Ohio State

Losing coordinators is common for national championship teams. Former Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning left in 2021 to take the Oregon job, while offensive coordinator Todd Monken left after 2022 to take the same job with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. However, moving from one college coordinator role to another is far less common. 

In fact, no Ohio State primary coordinator has left voluntarily to take a college assistant job in at least 20 years. The rumored salary of more than $3 million might simply be an unpalatable amount at this point for a coach, especially as key players are getting even bigger rumored offers to transfer. (Star wideout Jeremiah Smith, for example, has reportedly been offered around $4.5 million to transfer.) But if nothing else, it’s a major shift in the way that resources will be allocated at elite programs. 

Prior to Knowles, both Ryan Day and former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer cycled through defensive coordinators trying to find consistency, especially after Luke Fickell left for the Cincinnati job. The Buckeyes now have the biggest coordinator opening on the market.