James Franklin breaks down process leading to Jim Knowles hire

For the second season in a row and the third time in four seasons, Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin was forced to hire a new defensive coordinator. He, ultimately, landed on poaching Jim Knowles from the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Now, Franklin has shared some insight into the hiring process for Knowles at Penn State at his Winter press conference, starting with how quickly the hire came to happen.

“Time, it happened pretty quickly,” James Franklin said. “What I think helped with this is we spoke a couple years back when the position was open, so that helped. We already had pretty good familiarity with each other. We were able to start conversations after the national championship game, obviously, and it went quickly.”

For the past three seasons, Jim Knowles led the Ohio State defense. That culminated in 2024 with a national championship that was, in many ways, led by the Buckeyes defense. The Ohio State defense ranked first in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 12.9 points per game. They were also first in total defense, allowing 254.6 yards per game.

“I will say this in defense to Jim, because I know he took some grief for this. Jim had all intentions of going to their national champion celebration. We did not have a deal yet, even the day the deal was being announced by everybody that it was done, it was not done. I was concerned that it being announced may screw up our ability to get the deal done,” Franklin said. “But I didn’t know it was being reported everywhere that he was coming, and we didn’t have a signed contract until way after that, and as you guys know, the amount of high-profile jobs that were open for defensive coordinator positions you never truly know until the deal is done.”

The contract itself for Jim Knowles makes him the highest-paid coordinator in college football. It’s been reported to be over $3 million annually. For a program that has had three straight seasons with at least 10 wins and is coming off a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinal, there is now a clear commitment to winning.

“In terms of the commitment, it’s, it’s been phenomenal. It’s been all you can ask for. I think really, in the last two years, the commitment level has matched the expectations and I think there’s very few places in the country that can actually say that. So I’m very, very appreciative of that. Pat Kraft has been phenomenal, has been supportive. Neeli Bendapudi has been unbelievably supportive. As you know, we have unique flexibility because we are self-sufficient. A lot of different universities are using resources from the university or the student body, and we’re not, but it still takes the support to get those things done. So, I’m very appreciative,” Franklin said.

“And, obviously, when you’re able to be able to go out and compete with who we competed with to get arguably the best defensive coordinator in college football, I’m very, very appreciative of that. I know there’s a ton of excitement from our players, there’s a ton of excitement from the fans, there’s a ton of excitement from our supporters and alumni and lettermen, and all those things matter.”

Jim Knowles shares relationship with James Franklin, excitement to work with him

This will be the first time that Jim Knowles and James Franklin work together. Still, Knowles is excited for the opportunity.

“We knew each other. I had tremendous respect for what he’s accomplished here and throughout his career. I think coming from Coach Franklin, it wasn’t really a pitch, but it was something we could openly discuss is that he has built a culture here that has really emphasized defense. I think he’s been an offensive guy, so maybe some people look at him like that but when you look back at his history — he didn’t really have to say it, but we talked about it,” Knowles said.

“They’ve had really good defense here. They’ve been through some different coordinators, but they have always had a good defense. That goes into how you structure your practice plan, how you structure your offense, in terms of the tempo of the offense, or I’ve been around situations where the offense tried to score as fast as they could and didn’t worry about going three-and-out in 30 seconds and places that can put the defense at a disadvantage. He hasn’t structured it like that here. He has made it conducive to be successful on defense. You can talk about that, but the proof is in the numbers. Like I said, they’ve had some various coordinators here recently. And guess what? The defense has still been pretty good.”