Josh Heupel is reportedly closing in on making a marquee hire to replace Tim Banks as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator. Tennessee is expected to hire Jim Knowles as the program’s new defensive coordinator, ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported Wednesday afternoon.
The deal is not yet done but Tennessee is the expected landing spot for Knowles and would be a major splash hire for Heupel.
Knowles is one of the most well thought of defensive coordinators in the country and is one the market after spending last year as Penn State’s defensive coordinator. Matt Campbell is bringing Jon Heacock with him from Iowa State to replace Knowles, putting the 60-year old Knowles back on the job market.
According to Thamel, Knowles is currently negotiating his buyout with Penn State. He had just finished the first year of a three-year contract with the Nittany Lions that paid him $3.1 million a season. Penn State reportedly owes Knowles over $7 million.
Penn State lured Knowles away from Ohio State last offseason where the Philadelphia native spent three years leading the Buckeyes’ defense including during the 2024 national championship season.
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Knowles earned his reputation as one of the nation’s best defensive coordinators in four years at Oklahoma State before Ryan Day poached him away from Mike Gundy and the Cowboys program.
It was a very underwhelming 2025 season for not just Knowles but for Penn State’s entire program. The Nittany Lions entered the season as a preseason national championship favorite but went just 6-6 (3-6 Big 10) with a defense that ranked 37th nationally in points per game allowed.
Knowles’ units ranked first, second and 24th nationally in scoring defense in the three previous seasons at Ohio State. After poor defenses in his first two seasons at Oklahoma State, Knowles’ groups ranked 34th and ninth in his final two seasons in Stillwater.
Tennessee fired defensive coordinator Tim Banks after five years as the program’s defensive coordinator earlier this week. The Vols’ defense steadily improved over Banks’ first four seasons and peaked in 2024 with a group that ranked seventh nationally and carried Tennessee to the College Football Playoff.
But Tennessee fell off a cliff defensively in 2025, finishing the season 93rd in points allowed per game and leading to Heupel making the coaching change.
