The gap between good and great in college football can be miniscule. Games are won and lost in the margins, and that’s why Jim Knowles believes he can be the difference-maker for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions’ new defensive coordinator said as much — and he said it a few times — at his introductory news conference on Tuesday. He’s fresh off a national championship run at Ohio State, so he certainly knows a little something about winning a title. And he thinks he can deliver one to Penn State, too. The Nittany Lions haven’t won a national championship since 1986.
“I have one aspiration,” Knowles said. “I’m at that point in my career where you focus solely on the job at hand, and my aspiration is to help Penn State win the national championship and be the No. 1 defense in the country — and that’s really all I’m focused on. That’s not just talk. That’s the truth. I don’t have any aspirations beyond that.”
Knowles is 59 years old. He played at Cornell and began his coaching career there, later serving as the head coach of the Big Red from 2004 to 2009. He’s coordinated defenses at Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Duke. Knowles has lived a fascinating and fruitful football life.
But this might be the most interesting chapter yet.
Less than one week after standing on a makeshift stage at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as scarlet and gray confetti fell, Knowles took this job, at a conference rival — a stunning move right after making it to the summit of the sport. In the weeks since the jump, there has been a great deal of speculation about why Knowles was willing to and/or wanted to leave Columbus. He didn’t touch the issue on Tuesday, stating only that he was grateful to Ohio State head coach Ryan Day for the opportunity, that he had great relationships with Day and the players and that he felt supported by the administration. But …
“You know, you reach a point in your career where you’re given opportunities based on past performance,” Knowles said. “And Penn State, for me — growing up in inner-city Philly — was the epitome of college football. When I was a kid, I was never talented enough to make it to Penn State as a player but given the opportunity to do it now as a coach, it’s really where I want to be to continue my career.”
He’s also being paid handsomely to continue his career in Happy Valley, by the way. Knowles will earn about $3.1 million per year over three years, making him the highest-paid assistant coach in college football history. It’s both an astonishing salary but also one that kind of makes total sense for Penn State to pay. The Nittany Lions needed to take a big swing like this after falling one game short of the national title game. They needed to show the sport what it looks like when Penn State’s administration is aligned and fully committed to competing at the highest level of college football. This is what it takes to chase a national championship — that’s what the school is saying. This is how you win in the margins.
This could be the difference-maker for head coach James Franklin, whose record at Penn State vs. teams in the top five of the AP poll sits at a dismal 1-15. A bunch of those losses have come at the hands of Ohio State, and a few of them came with Knowles on the other sideline. While he’s adding to Penn State by joining the staff there, he’s also weakening Ohio State’s staff by leaving.
In 2025, Penn State is bringing back quarterback Drew Allar and both of its star running backs, Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. The Nittany Lions also return five starting offensive linemen and defensive studs Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant. The Nittany Lions are trying to replicate the success that Ohio State had this year and Michigan had the season before, with veteran players spurning both the glitz of the NFL and the allure of the transfer portal to stay put and contend for a national title.
And Penn State will do so with arguably the best coordinator duo in the country in Knowles and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, whom the Nittany Lions poached from Kansas ahead of the 2024-25 season. Knowles, whose defenses are almost always among the nation’s best, is taking over a unit that’s almost always ranked in the top 10 in all the major statistical categories. It’s a match that seems to be as sure a thing as you can find in college football — a great defensive mind inheriting great defensive talent.
Penn State was three points away from a trip to the title game this past January. It doesn’t (and shouldn’t) need much to get over the hump, you’d think.
“So close. So close, right? I think I can help. I think I can be of service,” Knowles said. “Once you get past being young and thinking you’re going to be the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, as you move forward in your career, you really start thinking about: How can I be of service? Where can I add to a great team and be a part of a great team? And this is the place because everything here is so close to winning it all, and I’m hopeful that I can help get it there.”
