Jim Knowles will make less at Tennessee next season than he did at Ohio State in 2024 when he helped the Buckeyes to a national championship.
The Volunteers formally announced the hiring of Knowles on Thursday. He’ll take the place of Tim Banks, who was fired on Dec. 8, and he’ll come at a slight discount. According to contract details obtained by On3’s Chris Low, Knowles will be paid $2 million to coordinate the Tennessee defense next season.
Knowles will make $2.2 million in 2027 and $2.4 million in 2028, according to a report from Low.
Banks was paid $2.15 million this season. He just inked a 3-year contract extension last January after helping Tennessee to the College Football Playoff, but the defense underperformed this year and that forced Josh Heupel back into the market for a top assistant.
Knowles made $2.2 million with Ohio State in 2024, according to the USA Today database. After his Ohio State defense finished first in scoring (12.9 points per game) and yards per play (4.2), Knowles jumped to Penn State.
The Nittany Lions enter the postseason ranked 33rd in defensive SP+. While the defense wasn’t necessarily a problem, it wasn’t up to the standard Penn State thought it would get when it plucked Knowles away from the Buckeyes.
Tennessee’s gain. The Vols enter the postseason 61st in defensive SP+. They were among the stingiest defenses in the country last year, when they ranked fourth in success rate allowed. This year, UT ranks 129th in defensive success rate.
“Hiring Jim Knowles was our top priority from the start of this process,” Heupel said in a press release on Thursday. “Jim has a proven track record of developing elite defenses that play with an edge, and we got to see that first-hand during the 2024 College Football Playoff.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
