Knowles had options, and Penn State had to open up the checkbook to get the well-regarded coach to Happy Valley.

Jim Knowles was introduced as Penn State's defensive coordinator on Tuesday. Here's what he said about leaving Ohio State football.

Franklin and Knowles previously had discussed a job at Penn State. An early morning call two days after Ohio State's national championship began the process.

Jim Knowles landed at Penn State less than a week after helping Ohio State win the national championship. In those precious days following the College Football Playoff finale, the sought-after defensive coordinator had options from which to choose.

To begin the offseason for the Ohio State Buckeyes, they suffered a couple of major losses. First and foremost, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles decided to wal

Franklin had talked to Knowles in December 2021 shortly after defensive coordinator Brent Pry, one of his longtime assistants, left Penn State to become head coach at Virginia Tech. Knowles wound up going to Ohio State and the Lions ended up hiring Manny Diaz, who enjoyed two very successful seasons before he became head coach at Duke.

With the Ohio State Buckeyes still needing to replace Jim Knowles as defensive coordinator, they apparently tried to poach D.J. Durkin away from Auburn, but Hugh Freeze was not about to let that happen.