Penn State is expected to announce the hiring of Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles after approval from the Board of Trustees Committee on Equity and Human Resources.
‘You Don’t Mess Around With Jim’: Penn State Set to Hire Jim Knowles as Defensive Coordinator
Per sources, the money is supposed to be around $3.25 million with incentives that will take that to the $3.75 million mark. This puts Knowles atop the salary scale for defensive coordinators surpassing Michigan’s Wink Martindale who has a $3 million annual salary.
To put that in perspective, that’s less than James Franklin, but far, far more than the governor of Pennsylvania who makes over $200,000.
It also shows that athletic director Dr. Patrick Kraft and university president Neeli Bendapudi are fully committed to investing in the football program. Hiring a coordinator like Knowles away from Ohio State was unheard of until this hire. Now, it’s happened, and it shows that Franklin and company are all in to do whatever it takes to get Penn State back to the National Championship game.
This move, startling indeed, should come as no surprise for those who follow the program closely. Kraft is in the background of nearly every shot of Franklin when he’s on the television screen and could easily be confused as a coach rather than athletic director. His behavior is always positive and his enthusiasm for Penn State football and the other athletic programs is evident everywhere he goes.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.This is a far cry from the stoic, polished behavior of former athletic director Sandy Barbour. While Barbour did an okay job leading the athletic department, Kraft has been a breath of fresh air for what was a stagnant operation.
Much is made by Franklin about the alignment of Bendapudi, Kraft and the coach himself. The fact they are all pulling on the rope in the same direction is a big reason why Beaver Stadium is getting renovated and multi-million dollar donations are coming in weekly to help fund the renovations.
That same alignment was never in play for Franklin under the previous regime of Dr. Rodney Erickson and Barbour. It resulted in some poignant statements from Franklin and PSU falling far behind the NIL landscape initially. Now, NIL is seemingly flourishing and Penn State was just a few plays away from playing for this year’s National Championship.
Kraft being there for the entire ride, right in Franklin’s hip pocket, assuredly gave him a thirst for more and a thirst to bring a championship to Happy Valley.
There is still a lot of work to do for Franklin and company. But landing Knowles is a great start to the 2025 season and returning to the College Football Playoff. For now, it seems like all things are aligned in such a way to get the Nittany Lions not only back, but beyond where they were this season.
