Already boasting the largest salary among college football assistants, Knowles' contract allows him to hit astronomical numbers
However, Knowles wasn’t in attendance. About an hour later, reports surfaced that Knowles is leaving Ohio State to serve as Penn State’s next defensive coordinator. The move leaves Day searching for a replacement. Here’s who he might consider as he enters his seventh season as the Buckeyes' head coach.
Penn State has received plenty of praise over the past few weeks for retaining talent. Its latest move, hiring one of the nation's best defensive coordinators, has people buzzing.
Without defensive coordinator Jim Knowles in attendance on a day sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel he was finalizing a deal to join Penn State, Ohio State celebrated its national championship with 30,000 Buckeyes fans on Sunday at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
Jim Knowles has left Ohio State for Penn State. His three-year deal will make him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football, sources told ESPN.
Guerrieri represents the continuity option. He's a Knowles guy through and through, initially coming with him to Ohio State as a senior analyst back in 2022. After a year apart at Indiana in 2023, Knowles missed him so much that he convinced Day to bring him back to Columbus, where he spent this past season as safeties coach.
Ohio State asked defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to skip the team's College Football Playoff national championship celebration while he considered a
Week 1 of the 2025 college football season features a loaded slate, including LSU at Clemson, Notre Dame at Miami and Alabama at Florida State, among others. LSU-Clemson could be a top-five matchup, as could the biggest headliner: Manning and Texas visiting Ohio State in a matchup of the 2024 national champion and our early 2025 favorite.
One Ohio State reporter answered whether or not Buckeyes head football coach Ryan Day and the program's brain trust can rebound from losing defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to Penn State.
The go-big hire of Ohio State's Jim Knowles signals a shift for Penn State football: Why it means so much now and later
Penn State football entered rarified air by stealing Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles away from the defending national champions.