This time last year, Jim Knowles was scheming a way to stop the Tennessee offense as the defensive coordinator for Ohio State football during the Buckeyes’ run to the national title.
After a tumultuous stint at Penn State that ended quicker than anyone could have imagined, Knowles is on his way to Rocky Top. UT head coach Josh Heupel announced the hiring of Knowles last week as the new defensive coordinator for the Vols.
“Hiring Jim Knowles was our top priority from the start of this process,” Heupel says. “Jim has a proven track record of developing elite defenses that play with an edge, and we got to see that firsthand during the 2024 College Football Playoff. His defenses are always physical, well prepared and can adapt quickly in-game against today’s complex offenses. He’s a competitor, a winner and someone who will get the most out of our players in practice and on game day.”
Knowles signed a three-year contract with the Vols that will pay him $2 million in 2026, $2.2 million in 2027 and $2.4 million in 2028. He is also expected to get a buyout negotiated from Penn State, which originally signed him to a three-year contract that averaged $3.1 million annually.
Knowles, 60, replaces Tim Banks, who Heupel dismissed last week following a season in which the Vols allowed 33 or more points a game seven times and were ranked 113th nationally in pass defense. Banks will remain in the SEC, with new Auburn head coach Alex Golesh hiring him as the team’s safeties coach. Banks and Golesh worked together at UT for two seasons on Heupel’s staff.
Knowles will not be coaching the Vols in the Music City Bowl game against Illinois Dec. 30 at 5:30 p.m. EST at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. Linebackers coach William Inge will be serving as the interim defensive coordinator. Knowles also won’t be coaching Penn State during its bowl game.
Along with Knowles joining the staff, UT announced last week that offensive coordinator Joey Halzle and wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope both received two-year contract extensions and raises. Halzle will make $1.45 million annually and Pope will make $825,000 in 2026 and $850,000 in 2027.
Four decades of experience
Knowles brings 38 years of college football experience to UT, including 18 as a defensive coordinator at Penn State (2025), Ohio State (2022-24), Oklahoma State (2018-21), Duke (2011-17) and Western Michigan (1997-2002). He has orchestrated four top 15 defenses nationally over the last six seasons.
After helping the Buckeyes capture the national title last season, Knowles left for Penn State, where head coach James Franklin was fired midseason after a string of surprising losses sent the Nittany Lions spiraling. New Penn State head coach Matt Campbell did not retain Knowles on his staff, making him a target for Tennessee.
From 2022-24 at Ohio State, Knowles coordinated a defensive unit that allowed just 14.9 points and 278.7 yards per game, which led the nation in that span. Last season, the Buckeyes led the nation in scoring defense (12.9) and total defense (254.6). Ohio State defeated Tennessee 42-17 in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes held the Vols scoreless in the first and third quarters and limited UT to 256 total yards and 3.7 yards per play.
Knowles has ties to former UT assistant coach David Cutcliffe, who was in Neyland Stadium for UT’s regular-season ending loss to Vanderbilt. The two worked together across nine seasons at Duke and Ole Miss. Knowles was the former Tennessee offensive coordinator’s linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Duke from 2011-17 and his linebackers coach at Ole Miss in 2003.
Knowles played defensive end at Cornell from 1983-86, earning All-Ivy League honors in his final season. A year after graduating with a degree in industrial and labor relations, Knowles became an assistant coach for his alma mater for nine seasons, winning two Ivy League championships. Knowles served as the head coach for the Big Red from 2004-09.
Like many longtime college coaches, Knowles will be heading to yet another new city to try to provide a boost to a defense that has struggled for consistency in Heupel’s tenure.
“I am excited for this opportunity to work with Coach Heupel and represent Vol Nation,” Knowles says.