The Ohio State football program was expecting to have Jim Knowles as their defensive coordinator for years to come after they won the national championship. Instead, Knowles decided to leave for Penn State to become the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the sport.
Things have gone terribly since he made that decision. James Franklin ended up getting fired, and Penn State's season was derailed. Knowles has now been let go, as Matt Campbell has decided not to retain him. Now, Knowles is jobless less than a year after winning the title with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
While Knowles is currently jobless, it doesn't look like he will be for very long. He already moved to a team that Ohio State beat in Penn State. Now, it looks like he's headed to a team that the Buckeyes took down in the College Football Playoff last season.
Former Ohio State DC Jim Knowles headed to Tennessee
According to multiple reports, Knowles is headed to Tennessee. He is going through a buyout with the Nittany Lions in order to get to Knoxville. Knowles is owed around $7 million over the next two years based on his contract with the Nittany Lions, which the Vols will mitigate with this job.
Knowles helped shut the Volunteers down a year ago in the Shoe. It was clearly a performance that head coach Josh Heupel was impressed with. He wants Knowles to help his defense turn around, which was one of the worst defenses in the SEC this past season.
It's hard to overstate just how big a fall this is for Knowles. He went from coaching one of the best defenses in history to now coaching a program that didn't come close to making the College Football Playoff. He could have had job security for years to come if he had never left the Buckeyes.
Vols fans better get ready for a poor defensive performance in the first year of his installation. Knowles famously doesn't start getting results until year three.