Penn State will have a new defensive coordinator for the third straight season.
Pete Nakos of On3Sports reported Wednesday afternoon that new coach Matt Campbell is not keeping Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles on his staff.
This means that, for the third straight season and fourth time in the last five, Penn State will have a new DC.
Manny Diaz took over for longtime coordinator Brent Pry ahead of the 2022 season and stayed until the end of 2023, when became the head coach at Duke. Tom Allen succeeded Diaz and ended up taking the same position at Clemson after the 2024 season.
Penn State turned a lot of heads by hiring Knowles to succeed Allen.
Things had been going well for Knowles at Ohio State, which he helped win a national championship in 2024.
But a variety of factors led to Knowles coming to Happy Valley as the highest-paid assistant coach in college football history.
‘You Don’t Mess Around With Jim’: Penn State Set to Hire Jim Knowles as Defensive Coordinator
The addition of Knowles was one of many reasons people pegged Penn State as a national championship favorite in 2025, and one could argue that his unit was a reason that those expectations weren’t met.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Of Penn State’s six losses, five of them were by one possession. Against Oregon, Penn State needed one stop to seal the deal in overtime and didn’t get it.
The next week against UCLA, Penn State’s defensive didn’t have an answer for QB Nico Iamaleava, who ran for 128 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries, leading to a shocking upset.
Against Northwestern, PSU had a lead in the fourth quarter that the defense couldn’t hold, and a similar story transpired the next week at Iowa.
Penn State’s defense played well for the most part against No. 2 Indiana Nov. 8, but similar to Oregon, the unit didn’t get that last stop, and the Hoosiers avoided an upset.
On3 also reported that it’s unclear what Knowles’ buyout will be. But considering Penn State ended up paying James Franklin $40 million less than originally expected, there’s more room to go around.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Knowles is expected to land at Tennessee, which recently parted ways with defensive coordinator Tim Banks.
Follow Nittany Sports Now for more updates on Campbell’s first staff.
