The marriage between Penn State and Tennessee football defensive coordinators continues.
UT officially announced Jim Knowles as the next defensive coordinator for the Vols, just three days after parting ways with Tim Banks. Reports surfaced that Tennessee would be circling in on the defensive mastermind on Dec. 10, before officially announcing the hire on the morning of Dec. 11.
Knowles brings over a plethora of high-level coordinating experience to Tennessee, alongside a six-year stint as a head coach. He is also just one year removed from a national championship run with Ohio State — where the Buckeyes dismantled the Vols in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
“Hiring Jim Knowles was our top priority from the start of this process,” head coach Josh Heupel said in a press release. “Jim has a proven track record of developing elite defenses that play with an edge, and we got to see that first-hand during the 2024 College Football Playoff. His defenses are always physical, well prepared and can adapt quickly in-game against today’s complex offenses. He’s a competitor, a winner and someone who will get the most out of our players in practice and on gameday. We are thrilled to welcome Jim to Rocky Top as he helps us chase championships.”
Knowles lands a three-year contract with the Vols, paying him $2 million in 2026, $2.2 million in 2027 and $2.4 million in 2028. He still will likely earn buyout money from Penn State as well, as the Nittany Lions removed his final two years of his contract after hiring Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell. At the time, he was the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the country at $3.1 million annually. It is unclear what that buyout will look like, however, with his new contract in Knoxville.
It is the third time in the last decade that the Vols have meandered to State College, Pennsylvania, to pluck a defensive coordinator. Banks served in a co-defensive coordinator role for the Nittany Lions from 2016-20 before his five-year stint under Heupel, and Bob Shoop served two years there before Butch Jones brought him aboard in 2016-17.
Knowles, 60, is one of the brightest defensive minds in football. He played a hefty role in Ohio State’s 2024 national championship, where the Buckeyes allowed the nation’s fewest points per game at 12.9. They allowed 24 touchdowns across 16 games.
He comes without a previous strong tie to Tennessee. The deepest connection he has is serving on former Vols offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe’s staff while at Duke and Ole Miss.
“I am excited for this opportunity to work with Coach Heupel and represent Vol Nation,” Knowles said in a statement.
The Philadelphia native spent just one season at Penn State. Before that, he was the defensive coordinator at Ohio State for three years, coming over after a successful four-year stint at Oklahoma State. His final season with the Cowboys served as the most successful, guiding them to top-10 finishes in scoring defense and total defense. He also served as the head coach at Cornell, his alma mater, from 2004-09.
Knowles took over a defensive unit that ranked top 10 in scoring defense and total defense. In his lone year in State College, Knowles coached the Nittany Lions to a No. 37 ranking in points per game (21.42) and No. 34 in yards per game (334.3). Meanwhile, Ohio State maintained the nation’s best marks in scoring defense (8.15) and total defense (213.5) under new coordinator Matt Patricia. Most notably, Penn State ranked 93rd in the country on opponent third-down conversions at 42.36% — which was a large critique of Banks’ defense, which ranked 98th at 42.95%.
His defensive rebuilds have been transformational. His first season at Duke featured the 109th-ranked scoring defense in the country, which he brought to No. 24 by his final season. At Oklahoma State, the Cowboys ranked 97th in his first year, climbing to No. 9 in his last. His latest multi-year stint at Ohio State concluded with the No. 1 scoring defense in the nation.
That comes with time, however. Knowles runs a complicated scheme on defense. In August, while at Penn State, Knowles was asked about the intricacy and whether he had gotten better at simplifying it.
“I think in today’s game of football, it needs to be somewhat complicated because you need to have answers for everything, particularly at this level,” Knowles told reporters Aug. 2. “Offenses don’t run the same things in college. You better have all different kinds of answers.
“For teaching and installing, I’ve gotten better at it, I’ve had to particularly when you come into a situation like this. “Our charge is to be great now. If it’s too complicated, or if I can’t get it installed quickly, that’s my fault. I think I’ve developed a process that help move it along at a more rapid pace.”
Knowles coached Ohio State’s defense to the 2024 College Football Playoff flattening of Tennessee in the first round. The Buckeyes held the Vols to 17 points in the game, where Tennessee managed just 256 yards of offense. It was Tennessee’s lowest yards output of the entire season, finishing a hefty margin below a 312-yard output against Florida.
The Vols averaged 3.66 yards per play across 70 plays in the blowout loss.
Linebackers coach William Inge will coach Tennessee’s defense when it takes the field on Dec. 30 to face Illinois in the Music City Bowl.
