LIMITED-TIME $5/3 months SAVE SPORTS Ohio State Gets Bad News on Day of National Championship Celebration By Jonathan D Adams Athlon Sports Updated January 26, 2025 8:26 PM The Ohio State Buckeyes will look different when the 2025 college football season begins.
Head coach Ryan Day was already expecting to have to fight to retain key players from entering the transfer portal.
Additionally, the Buckeyes have several stars heading to the 2025 NFL draft. Now, Day will also need to retool his coaching staff.
A Big Ten rival poached a key assistant from the Ohio State staff despite the Buckeyes attempting to keep the coach with a lucrative contract offer.
Former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is joining Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin’s staff in the same role. The news comes as Ohio State was celebrating the team’s national championship in Columbus.
Sources: Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is finalizing a three-year deal to become the new defensive coordinator at Penn State,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel detailed in a Sunday message on X. “It averages $3.1 million over three years.”
On3.com’s Andy Staples previously reported that Knowles was on track to become the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football history.
The insider added that the Buckeyes made an offer to Knowles that would make him the highest paid defensive coordinator in the nation.
Ohio State has made defensive coordinator Jim Knowles an offer that would make him the highest paid DC in the country, a source told On3 Saturday,” Staples detailed on Saturday. “But Knowles is weighing other options.
“… It seems likely that no matter what Knowles does, he’ll wind up with the richest deal ever seen for a college DC.”
Ohio State will now be in search of a new defensive coordinator for the upcoming season. Meanwhile, fans gathered at Ohio Stadium to celebrate the team’s national championship run.
“What I love about this team is it really embodies what it’s like to be from Ohio,” Buckeyes pass rusher Jack Sawyer said at Sunday’s celebration, per ESPN.
“You get punched in the mouth, you always get back up and keep fighting. That’s what everybody in Ohio does and will continue to do.”