Jim Knowles doesn’t have to make immediate changes or a big flashy impact on his new employer right now, only 65 days on the job and just four official spring practices into his tenure as Penn State’s newest defensive coordinator.
What really, truly matters is how Knowles and his Nittany Lion defense do on Sept. 27 in Beaver Stadium against Oregon. And what they do against Knowles’ former employer, reigning national champion Ohio State, when Penn State faces the Buckeyes on Nov. 1 in The Horseshoe.
That’s why, when Knowles is seen slowly walking around Penn State’s practice, with his notebook and eyes all open, but his mouth shut, head coach James Franklin doesn’t worry.
In fact, Franklin has embraced Knowles’ methodical, thoughtful and measured approach so far. Don’t mistake Knowles’ lack of practice activity for a lack of achievement behind the scenes. Knowles is truly the head coach of the Nittany Lion defense, and thus far he is overseeing a cadre of assistant coaches who do the hands-on coaching and teaching during Penn State’s spring drills.
Take the Lions’ defensive line: It’s led by D-line coach Deion Barnes, with the more-than-able assistance of PSU alumni Andrew Jackson and Greg Gattuso. Jackson, a vocal presence in practice, was the D-line coach at Fordham, James Madison, ODU and West Virginia. Gattuso is more measured during drills, befitting his history as a very successful head coach for 23 years, with a 151-101 record at Duquesne and Albany.
Knowles knows they know what they’re doing. And — having been DC at numerous stops, and leading Ohio State’s defense to a No. 1 ranking in scoring and overall defense in 2024 — he knows when to leave very well enough alone. For now.
“Jim is a man of few words. That’s in the staff meetings in the morning. That’s out here on the field,” Franklin said on Tuesday. “I’ve been very impressed with how it’s gone so far.”
More from Franklin on Knowles:
IN MEETINGS: “Jim’s a believer that he’s going to spend a ton of time in the meeting room, taking down a ton of notes — kind of like I do. And then make the points he needs to make to the coaches in the meeting rooms.”
AND ON THE FIELD: “We meet in the mornings and go through the film. Jim is thorough and he is detailed, to the point where I think he is very, very comfortable on the field letting the coaches coach.”
AND OVERALL: “From a big picture perspective, Jim sees it all. He has a very good understanding of what he wants it to look like and how it’s all supposed to fit together.”
A COORDINATED EFFORT
Knowles is Franklin’s fifth defensive coordinator since he arrived at Penn State 4,099 days ago. The list: Bob Shoop (2014-15), who was super-smart and occasionally at odds with Franklin; Brent Pry (2016-21), a good friend and confidante; Manny Diaz (2022-23), between head coaching gigs and a masterful teacher; and Tom Allen (2024), a square peg in a round hole. All also coached positions in addition to being DC — Shoop the secondary, the others were all LBU tutors, and darn good ones at that, though current linebackers coach and Nittany Lion legend Dan Connor had a big hand in guiding the linebackers last season.
Knowles is different. He roams the field during practice, often in open space, watching coaches coach and players play. Franklin has allowed Knowles that space and latitude, with resources and autonomy and trust and patience.
“I’ve been pleased,” Franklin said of Knowles’ immediate impact. “The practices have been very, very competitive. It doesn’t feel like offensively we are in Year 2 and defensively is only a couple of weeks in. It’s been very competitive.”
Franklin, now in season No. 15 as a head coach in the SEC and Big Ten, structures his practices so that the offense and defense are on relatively even footing. So while Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State’s offensive coordinator who came aboard in 2024, may have a successful PSU season under his belt and a full download of his offense in, Knowles does not have that advantage. And Franklin’s philosophy is that it shouldn’t be a disadvantage.
(Kotelnicki, BTW is Franklin’s sixth OC in 12 seasons, so CJF is a pro at managing turnover at the coordinator level. He’s had to: None of his offensive coordinators at Penn State have lasted more than 2.5 seasons.)
“Every time you have tweaks on your offense and defense, there’s different responsibilities for different guys that have to take it on,” Franklin acknowledged on Tuesday. “There’s different personalities of the coordinators and the position coaches when turnover happens. All of those things seem to be going very, very well.
“We manage it. The way we do it, and have always done it, the offense is limited to what they can do on Day One. The defense is also limited to what they can do on Day One. It’s not about the offense beating the defense. It’s about putting the best Penn State team together. And creating the best teaching and learning environment.
“That’s kind of how we do it — it’s structured. I got scarred by it as a young [offensive] coordinator and it was a free-for-all. You’re trying to put base offense in and you’re going against every defense that America has ever seen before. We don’t do it that way. It’s been structured. I think it’s been helpful for everybody. It’s like a teacher having a teaching progression, right?”
KNOWLES KNOWS
Knowles, who might be the physical and experience embodiment of a grizzled college football coaching veteran, appreciates the Franklin Way.
“They’ve been through some different coordinators, but they have always had good defense,” Knowles said when he was hired two months ago, shortly after helping guide Ohio State to the national championship. “So that goes into how you structure your practice plan, how you structure your offense in terms of the tempo of the offense. I’ve been around situations where all the offense has done is try to score as fast as they could and didn’t worry about going three-and-out in 30 seconds. Places that can put the defense at a disadvantage.
“Well, James hasn’t structured it like that here. He has made it conducive to be successful on defense. You can talk about that, but the proof is in the numbers. Like I said, they’ve had some various coordinators here recently, and guess what? The defense has still always been pretty good.”
