PSU DC Reportedly in Contract Buyout Talks After Campbell Hire, Eyed by Tennessee

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles reportedly will not be part of new head coach Matt Campbell's staff at Penn State.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Wednesday that Knowles is negotiating a buyout with the Nittany Lions with the expectation he will be hired at Tennessee as the Volunteers' new defensive coordinator.

This surely isn't how Penn State envisioned things unfolding when it made the high-profile hire of Knowles in January.

It gave him a three-year deal that paid him an average $3.1 million annually, per Thamel, as it hired him away from Big Ten rival Ohio State. That the move came after Knowles helped lead the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff national championship made it all the more shocking.

Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch reported Ohio State was willing to make him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the country with a deal that paid him $2.75 million per year, but he ended up taking the more lucrative offer with Penn State.

It's safe to say things didn't work out well.

The Nittany Lions went 6-6 and were arguably the most disappointing team in the country considering they reached the CFP semifinals last season and entered the 2025 campaign No. 2 in the country.

Penn State Nittany Lions - UCLA Bruins Highlights

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Head coach James Franklin was fired in the middle of the season, and Knowles' defense gave up 42 points to UCLA and 38 points to Ohio State during the middle of a six-game losing streak.

It was a far cry from his 2024 defense with the Buckeyes that finished first in the nation with 12.9 points given up per game. That unit played well during CFP victories over Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame, which surely caught the eye of Penn State.

But now he will head to the Volunteers and attempt to turn things around for a defense that gave up 45 points in a loss to Vanderbilt, 44 points in a loss to Georgia, 37 points in a loss to Alabama and 33 points in a loss to Oklahoma.