Jim Knowles believes Penn State is ‘so close’ to national championship: ‘I think I can help’

The Penn State Nittany Lions saw their season come to an end in the College Football Playoff semifinal, losing a close game to Notre Dame. Nobody knew it then, but their future defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, continued on the other side of the Playoff bracket, leading Ohio State to a national championship.

Following the national championship, Knowles made the decision to move on from the Buckeyes and move to Happy Valley. There, he finds a program in Penn State that he believes is close to a national championship itself. More importantly, he thinks he can help the program get there.

“I see it as so close,” Jim Knowles said. “So close. Right, and I think I can help. I think I can be of service.”

Jim Knowles has been an FBS defensive coordinator at Duke, Oklahoma State, and Ohio State since his last opportunity to be a head coach, leading the Cornell program from 2004 to 2009. Now, his focus isn’t on moving to the next level of his career, but as he explained, finding a place where he can be of service.

“These things — once you get past maybe being young and think you’re going to be the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, as you move forward in your career, you really start thinking about, ‘How can I be of service? Where can I add to a great team and be part of a great team?’ And, this is the place,” Knowles said. “Because, everything here is so close to winning it all, and I’m hopeful that I can help get it there.”

Under head coach James Franklin, Penn State has been consistently good but has rarely threated to win a national championship. In fact, 2024 was the first season the Nittany Lions ever made the College Football Playoff. Still, with three-straight seasons winning at least 10 games, now Franklin and the Nittany Lions want to take the next step forward and win their first national championship since 1986.

Jim Knowles, clearly, knows how to lead a defense to a national championship. Last season, he had the Buckeyes sitting atop the country defensively. 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. Penn State’s defense was, similarly, elite, but nobody topped what Knowles produced in Columbus.

Clearly, Franklin believes that Knowles can help too. The better than $3 million annual salary that Penn State is set to pay him makes Knowles the highest paid coordinator in college football.