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

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

Jim Knowles was introduced as Penn State's defensive coordinator on Tuesday. Here's what he said about leaving Ohio State football.

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.

Jim Knowles was introduced as Penn State’s defensive coordinator in a Tuesday press conference, a little more than a week after news broke that he was leaving Ohio State.

In the days after the Orange Bowl, Penn State’s players gathered on campus for a team meeting. At that point in January, they found out defensive coordinator Tom Allen was leaving for Clemson and that James Franklin would do his part to hire the best candidate he could.