BREAKING: Jim Knowles Leaves Ohio State for Penn State

In a shocking move, Jim Knowles, the defensive coordinator who played an integral part in Ohio State's National Championship-winning run, is reportedly out the door in Columbus. He leaves Ohio State to join James Franklin's Penn State staff in the same capacity.

We don't yet know everything regarding exactly why Knowles left Columbus. But here are several facts and details which may shed light on the situation:

• Knowles is a native of Philadelphia, so going home would make sense from that standpoint for him.

  
  

• He was the 3rd-highest paid defensive coordinator in college football this past season with Ohio State, making an average of $2.2 Million per season.

  
  

• Penn State is reportedly offering Knowles a three-year deal averaging around $3.1 Million per year. This would make him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the country.

  
  

• Interestingly enough, Ohio State was set to offer Knowles a similar-sized contract if he had stayed in Columbus. That's what makes this whole situation confusing.

  
  

• Knowles also attracted interest from Oklahoma and Notre Dame to be their defensive coordinator, before deciding to head to one of Ohio State's chief Big Ten rivals in Penn State.

I don't want to get into too much speculation at this point. But from a personal standpoint, I'm very interested to see if there was something going on behind the scenes that caused Knowles to leave. This move doesn't make sense to me, other than Knowles going home. Penn State hasn't beaten Ohio State since 2016, and that was on a fluke field goal block. Going from the Buckeyes to the Nittany Lions is also lateral move at best, if not a downgrade. Penn State is a great team. But they're not better than Ohio State at this point in time. Plus their deficiencies are mostly on the offensive side of the ball. Not defense.

Knowles leaves Ohio State after helping the Buckeyes put together one of the most remarkable defensive runs in program history in 2024. Just how good was his 2024 Ohio State defense? They led the nation in points per game (12.9) and yards per game (254.6). He steadily built this unit, going from 14th overall in total defense in his first season in Columbus, to third in total defense and second in scoring in 2023. Now he caps off his time as a Buckeye with a National Championship ring.

Possible replacements

As of right now, it's unclear who will fill Jim Knowles' shoes for 2025 and beyond. But two of the names swirling right now are Tim Walton, Ohio State's secondary coach, and Matt Guerrieri, the team's safeties coach. Both Walton and Guerrieri have extensive coaching experience.

Walton has been in both the college and NFL ranks after attending Ohio State in the early 90s. He's been both a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator for several colleges such as Bowling Green, Syracuse, Memphis and the University of Miami. Before Ohio State's 2024 run, he won another National Championship ring as a member of Nick Saban's 2003 BCS National Champion staff as the defensive backs coach for LSU.

Matt Guerrieri could be the more intriguing option though. He'll only be 36 years old by the time the 2025 season starts for Ohio State, and reportedly learned a lot under Jim Knowles while they both were at Duke from 2015-2017. Knowles was the defensive coordinator in Durham during those years, and Guerrieri was Duke's co-defensive coordinator from 2018-2021. The most important thing for Ohio State, is to largely retain their same defensive system while making the most of the talent they have returning in 2025. Guerrieri might give them the best chance to do that.

But no matter who the Buckeyes choose to hire to replace Jim Knowles, things will be VERY interesting on November 1st, 2025. That's the day Penn State travels to Ohio State to play the Buckeyes in Columbus. I know coaches and coordinators change schools all the time. But this one stings. And I'm sure there will be at least a few returning players on this Buckeye team who are eager to show Jim Knowles he made a mistake. Until then? Stay tuned!

Source

Eleven Warriors

Picture Credit

thespun.com