The Ohio State Buckeyes celebrated their national championship win in front of 30,000 fans at Ohio Stadium on Jan. 26, but one important person was missing: defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
While head coach Ryan Day stood at the podium and praised Knowles, calling him “the defensive coordinator of the best defense in the country,” there were reports that the DC was working out a deal with the Penn State Nittany Lions for their open position.
Fans Disapprove of Buckeyes Excluding Jim Knowles From National Championship Celebration
On Monday, analyst Brett McMurphy posted on X:
“Ohio State DC Jim Knowles was asked by school [sic] not to attend Buckeyes’ national title celebration while he deliberated his options, source said. Knowles’ representation tried to reach deal w/OSU week before title game & immediately after, but eventual offer was “well below” the competition, source said. Knowles signed a 3-year, $9.3 million deal w/Penn State Sunday.”
Many fans were upset about how things went down, and they expressed their disapproval underneath the report.
“Knowles is brains [sic] of the OSU operation,” a fan said.
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“Wow, that’s brutal. Wouldn’t even let him celebrate the national title with his team. This is a cut-throat business!” another fan mentioned.
Wondering about the difference in pay between the two programs, some fans thought Ohio State should have offered the DC more money, as they had offered players in the transfer portal a huge amount to join their program last offseason.
“They can pay the players but not the coaches…. Roll reversal,” a fan wrote.
“Sounds like OSU didn’t really want him back,” another fan said.
Some wondered about the hard-hitting speculations.
“Per his OSU contract [sic] he made 2.2M per year for 2 years. By leaving early he has to pay 30% fee to OSU. So close to 1.5M. If you spread that over 3 years, his salary drops to 2.6M which is what OSU offered him. The real story is he didn’t get along with other coaches.” A fan wrote.
“This is such obvious spin by Jim’s agent. If he were deliberating his options, why was the news immediately leaked after the celebration? The news outlets were already sitting on the story waiting to break it. Folks should do some actual reporting and ask OSU players about it,” another fan echoed.
Knowles’ defense at Ohio State was incredible in 2024, ranking first in the nation in yards allowed, scoring defense, and red zone defense. He will look to continue his success with the Nittany Lions, Ohio State’s conference foe.
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