Jim Knowles looks to be headed to his third school in three seasons.
According to multiple reports, the longtime college assistant is expected to become the new defensive coordinator at Tennessee after negotiating a buyout at Penn State.
Knowles arrived at Penn State after he coordinated Ohio State’s defense during the Buckeyes’ title run in 2024. He became the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the country at Penn State, but things did not go as planned for the team that was ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 to start the season.
After a 3-0 start, Penn State lost three straight games to fall to 3-3. That third loss, a defeat to Northwestern, resulted in the firing of coach James Franklin. Penn State ended up losing six straight games before three straight wins to close out the season and a spot in the Pinstripe Bowl against fellow 2025 underachiever Clemson.
The Nittany Lions allowed 21.4 points per game and 5.3 yards per play in 2025. Penn State allowed at least 30 points in four games including a 38-14 loss to Ohio State on Nov. 1.
The Buckeyes gave up the fewest points in the country a season ago at 12.9 as they rebounded from a Week 13 loss to Michigan to win four straight games in the College Football Playoff. Knowles departed the Buckeyes not long after the season to join their rival and Ohio State replaced him with longtime NFL coach Matt Patricia.
At Tennessee, Knowles would replace Tim Banks. The Volunteers gave up nearly 29 points per game and 5.5 yards a play in 2025 as opposing QBs threw for almost 250 yards per game. A season ago, Tennessee had one of the best defenses in college football and allowed just 189 passing yards a game.
Knowles had been at Ohio State for three seasons before heading to Penn State. Prior to joining the Buckeyes, he was the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State for four seasons and the defensive coordinator at Duke for eight seasons.
