Ohio State has lifted the trophy after a decade in a breathtaking final at Atlanta last week. The post Shocking Culprit in Jim Knowles’ $10M Penn State Move Exposed As Ryan Day Targets Curt Cignetti’s Right-Hand Man for OSU appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Ohio State Buckeyes snagged the championship title in Atlanta on January 20th with a decisive victory. The post Stance on James Franklin Takes Turn as $10M Splash to Sabotage Ryan Day Puts Penn State in Unexpected Territory appeared first on EssentiallySports.

However, Knowles wasn’t in attendance. About an hour later, reports surfaced that Knowles is leaving Ohio State to serve as Penn State’s next defensive coordinator. The move leaves Day searching for a replacement. Here’s who he might consider as he enters his seventh season as the Buckeyes' head coach.

As Ryan Day looks to hire his fourth defensive coordinator in seven seasons, here are potential candidates to replace Jim Knowles.

The departure of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles adds a challenge for Ohio State, which was already dealing with heavy roster turnover on defense.

Ryan Day is once again dealing with the consequences of success in college football after leading Ohio State to a national championship.

The Buckeye Fever Podcast is back with a victory celebration episode you won’t want to miss. Dave Holmes dives into the latest Buckeye drama, from Jim Knowles’ shocking exit to Penn State to the wild fan reactions after Ohio State’s championship run. Plus, Ryan Day’s big moment on The Tonight Show.

Penn State announced Monday it had hired Jim Knowles as its defensive coordinator. According to multiple reports, Knowles reached a three-year contract with an average annual salary of $3.1 million. Knowles is a Philadelphia native. In a statement, Knowles said he was "excited for this opportunity" to join the Nittany Lions' program.

Guerrieri represents the continuity option. He's a Knowles guy through and through, initially coming with him to Ohio State as a senior analyst back in 2022. After a year apart at Indiana in 2023, Knowles missed him so much that he convinced Day to bring him back to Columbus, where he spent this past season as safeties coach.

On Sunday, it was revealed that Jim Knowles, the now-ex-defensive coordinator for Ohio State, would depart for a lucrative deal to join coach James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions next fall.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are fresh off winning the program's ninth national championship and have already turned their attention to defending their title in 2025. In the days following the Buckeyes' College Football Playoff Championship Game triumph,