What James Franklin, Jim Knowles, and others are saying about the new Penn State defensive coordinator

Penn State has officially hired Jim Knowles away from Ohio State to be its next defensive coordinator. The news of the massive change broke Sunday and was officially announced by the university on Monday following a Board of Trustees committee meeting. The 59-year-old Philadelphia native will be the team’s fourth defensive coordinator in five years.

“Join me in welcoming Jim Knowles back to his home in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as the Defensive Coordinator of Penn State Football,” Penn State coach James Franklin said in a released statement. “He’s a strong strategist and excellent defensive mind. He reflects the core values our culture of excellence is built upon. We look forward to having Jim and his family join us in Happy Valley.”

Knowles’ 2024 Buckeyes’ defense was ranked first nationally in both total defense and scoring defense.

“I am excited for this opportunity to join Penn State Football,” Knowles said in a released statement. “I would like to thank Coach Franklin, Pat Kraft and President Neeli Bendapudi for this opportunity to be the defensive coordinator at Penn State. I have always had a ton of respect for Coach Franklin and the program he has built here. I look forward to working with this tremendous staff and group of student-athletes and am ready to get to work.”

Here’s what is being said about the hire by the Nittany Lions and also from a local and national perspective.

Penn State makes a power move

That’s the take from Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports. The Nittany Lions did the unthinkable in prying away one of the nation’s best coordinators from the new College Football Playoff champions.

“Penn State reached the semifinal round of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff and held a second-half lead to reach the national championship before falling just short vs. Notre Dame,” Jeyarajah writes. “The Nittany Lions have been energized by the performance and shelled out serious NIL money to contend in 2025. 

“Perhaps just as significant, Penn State’s fortunes changed dramatically in 2024 with the hiring of Kotelnicki from Kansas, and he’s turned down head coaching opportunities to remain with the program in 2025. The Nittany Lions will be among the national favorites entering 2025. With back-to-back major coordinator hires, the Nittany Lions are acting like a historic blue-blood program.”

Read the full story here.

Anthony Poindexter was on board with the hire

Penn State’s now long-time co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach was viewed as the most logical internal promotion candidate if James Franklin chose to go that route. According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, the College Football Hall of Famer was also a candidate for external defensive coordinator jobs. In the end, he is staying with the Lions and has a new contract.

“Anthony Poindexter, the program’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, is expected to remain on staff by signing a new multi-year contract with an increased salary — a deal that’s resulted in him turning down interest from power conference schools in their coordinator openings, sources tell Yahoo Sports,” Dellenger writes.

“In fact, behind Knowles’ move from Columbus to State College — one of the most stunning coordinator swings in recent industry history — is Poindexter, the 48-year-old former Virginia defensive back who won a Super Bowl as a player with the Baltimore Ravens and has helped steer one of the nation’s best defensive units since joining James Franklin’s staff in 2021.”

Read the full story here.

Penn State takes a step towards excellence by hiring Knowles

That’s the take from BWI’s Nate Bauer, who reported throughout the search that Knowles was a top target.

“Through its actions, both leading into the program’s CFP run as well as in its immediate aftermath, Penn State has demonstrated its very real intent to continue along that path,” Bauer writes. “Long advocated by Franklin for fans and administrators as a means to understand what success looks like in major college football, and the commitment necessary to reach it, though, Sunday’s revelation demands historical context. 

“A painstaking, plodding process met by resistance for nine of his first 11 years at the helm, Franklin’s message has finally resonated with stakeholders with the power to enact it. Winners of the highest-profile signing of the offseason cycle, Penn State not only knows how to behave like the juggernauts of the sport but is also showing its enthusiasm to act like one.”

Read the full story here.