Franklin had talked to Knowles in December 2021 shortly after defensive coordinator Brent Pry, one of his longtime assistants, left Penn State to become head coach at Virginia Tech. Knowles wound up going to Ohio State and the Lions ended up hiring Manny Diaz, who enjoyed two very successful seasons before he became head coach at Duke.

Knowles had options, and Penn State had to open up the checkbook to get the well-regarded coach to Happy Valley.

Penn State's James Franklin explained, for the first time, of hiring away top defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State.

With the Ohio State Buckeyes still needing to replace Jim Knowles as defensive coordinator, they apparently tried to poach D.J. Durkin away from Auburn, but Hugh Freeze was not about to let that happen.

Penn State's James Franklin and Jim Knowles previously had discussed a job at Penn State. An early morning call two days after Ohio State's national championship began the process.