Jim Knowles is in his first year at Penn State.
Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles takes a seat on the bench during warm ups before the Iowa game on Oct. 18, 2025. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com. Additionally, Knowles “has emerged as a possibility” for the same position at Tennessee, according to a report from CBS Sports’ Tennessee fired fifth-year defensive play-caller Tim Banks earlier this week.
Banks, ironically enough, was Penn State’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2016-2020. Fired coach James Franklin lured Knowles away from Ohio State, his home for three years, this offseason on the back of the Buckeyes’ national championship. It took a deal in excess of $3 million to get it done, placing huge expectations on a veteran defense in Happy Valley.The Nittany Lions lost six straight to begin Big Ten play, including some brutal performances against UCLA and Iowa in the run game. Quarterbacks Nico Iamaleava and Mark Gronowski each ran for more than 125 yards against Penn State. Franklin, and later interim head coach Terry Smith, intimated that Knowles’ scheme was particularly complex, and Penn State players were slow to fully grasp it. Smith helped lead a defensive turnaround to win three straight to finish the year, which was a direct result of a more simplified and adjusted scheme.Knowles — a Philadelphia native — has also been a defensive coordinator at Western Michigan, Duke and Oklahoma State. Longtime Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock is rumored to be following Campbell to Happy Valley, though the move is not official, and his role is not yet confirmed.Max Ralph is a sports reporter at PennLive, covering Penn State Athletics with a primary focus on Nittany Lion football. He is a 2024 Penn State graduate with a major in broadcast journalism, completing...
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