James Franklin praises Penn State administration for moving quickly to hire Jim Knowles

James Franklin recently praised the Penn State administration for moving quickly to hire new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. The former Ohio State DC came off a national title with the Buckeyes and his move within the Big Ten was surprising at the time.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich recently reported Knowles was ready to stay at Ohio State as well. But with no contract extension on the table in a timely manner, Knowles explored his options and that’s where Franklin came in.

Not only did Penn State inquire, Franklin mentioned other teams who needed a defensive coordinator at the time. So thanks to Franklin and the PSU administration, such as AD Pat Kraft, Knowles came back closer to home,

“But then, Ohio State’s trying to keep him,” Franklin said, via ESPN. “We’re involved. Oklahoma needs a defensive coordinator. Notre Dame needs a defensive coordinator. I think what people don’t realize a lot of times — even for these head coaching positions — there’s not as many obvious candidates out there that people think. It’s a smaller list than people realize. So now you’ve got four or five football powers all fighting over one guy at the end of the cycle.”

There are a lot of expectations for Penn State and Franklin in 2025. Adding Knowles showed the school was serious about those expectations going into the new year, especially after losing Tom Allen to Clemson.

“In years past, we wouldn’t have been able to do that,” Franklin said. “Pat and the president (were the difference this time). Not lip service to say we’re trying to win at the highest level.”

There’s no doubt Knowles elevated an Ohio State defense that was filled with veterans and stars. If he can do the same, Penn State might be able to justify the hype.

“I sat down with Jim in his office at Penn State last month, and he told me that it boiled down to the timing of Ohio State’s contract extension offer,” Dinich said on The Pat McAfee Show. “He said had Ohio State offered him a contract extension before the national championship game, he would not have considered other options, but that didn’t happen. And so everything happened quickly. After the national championship game, the door opened to explore other opportunities. 

“He reached out to Penn State, where he’s from. You know, Philly. He grew up a Penn State fan. A lot of it made sense, and $3.1 million also helped steal the deal. So Penn State got a huge hire. I could call it, maybe the best coordinator hire of the off season. And it’ll be interesting to see how much his knowledge of Ohio State helps the Nittany Lions this Fall.”