Last January, the Ohio State football team was celebrating a national championship during a parade at The Shoe. It was a crowning achievement after the Buckeyes lost two regular-season games, including the last one in embarrassing fashion to TTUN.
Jim Knowles and his defense were a major reason why the Ohio State Buckeyes were able to win it all. Ohio State was first in almost every significant defensive category. Instead of celebrating the championship with everyone at the Shoe, Knowles was nowhere to be found.
That's because he was negotiating a deal to be the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football. He decided to work under James Franklin instead of Ryan Day. That decision has turned out to be disastrous, as they have lost three straight games. Now, Knowles will have a new head coach to work with.
Jim Knowles left the Ohio State football program to watch James Franklin get fired
According to ESPN College Football insider Pete Thamel, the Nittany Lions have decided to fire James Franklin after Penn State lost to Northwestern. He is still owed $49 million, so the Nittany Lions will spend a lot of money to fire someone who has been with the program for a while.
Now, Knowles will work under interim head coach Terry Smith. Knowles has gone from possibly winning back-to-back national titles to possibly not winning another game this season. Oh, and Knowles has to return to Columbus and take on the Buckeyes next month.
This could be an all-time fumble from Knowles, but perhaps all he cares about is the money. He certainly didn't care about getting to know his players. He seems to be getting what he deserves, even if he's getting a lot of blame for Penn State's slide.
Ohio State will now have to hope that the Nittany Lions don't try to tap any of their assistants as their next head coach.