Jim Knowles has established himself as one of the best defensive coordinators in college football, highlighted by leading the best scoring defense in college football with the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2024-25. That culminated in a national championship, yet his name has been linked to the Oklahoma Sooners’ DC opening.
An Oklahoma site even reported the news — prematurely.
Buzz Surrounding Jim Knowles to Oklahoma Reaches High After Premature Reaction Video Leaked
Knowles, fresh off a national championship victory, has been linked to the Sooners’ vacancy at the same position. Parker Thune, co-publisher of OU Insider Live, even posted a video reacting to the hiring of Knowles.
Except he wasn’t hired.
As of today, Knowles is still under contract with Ohio State. Thune’s video release apparently was meant as a prerecorded reaction video in anticipation of Knowles heading to Oklahoma.
“Yes, there was a video that was not supposed to see the light of day — at least not when it did,” Thune explained.
The accidental release of the video heightened rumors and belief that Knowles did — or would soon take — the Sooners defensive coordinator position.
The question still remains, as there’s a possibility that he does. The Buckeyes allowed only 12.9 points per game, the best in the nation last year. That was despite the fact that Ohio State played 16 games, seven of which were against teams ranked in the AP Top 10.
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Knowles would be a tremendous hire for a Sooners program with a lack of stability at DC. They have the pieces in place; led by former DC Zac Alley, the Sooners finished 27th in the nation in points per game. After the season, Alley left to take the same position with the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Navigating the SEC with the seasoned Knowles and head coach Brent Venebles, who has a proven defensive background, is a must for the Sooners as they hope to improve upon a 6-7 season in which they finished only 2-6 in the conference.
Knowles isn’t unfamiliar with Oklahoma. In fact, he was their rival as the Oklahoma State Cowboys DC from 2018-2021. He’s familiar with recruiting in the area — he was able to secure commitments from numerous prized in-state recruits away from the Sooners.
If Knowles were to leave Ohio State, Oklahoma would likely have to offer a significant amount of money. Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman speculated that the price for Knowles may be “likely north of $3 million. Possibly even closer to $4 million.”
If that were to happen, it would more than likely make Knowles the highest-paid non-head coach in college football history.
It’s all rumors swirling at the moment, but that large offer sheet is quite possibly what it would take to woo Knowles away from a national title defense run with the Buckeyes.
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