I believe Josh Heupel believes he made the Tennessee play of the year in replacing Tim Banks with Jim Knowles.
Heupel’s quarterback trade, Nico for Joey Football, turned into a plus. Alas, it seems past tense. Banks for Knowles is the future. I think it was a good move. We’ll see if it was good enough. The 2026 schedule looks tough.
Jim Knowles (Artwork from Knowles social media)
To Heupel’s credit, he was decisive, no search firm, no committee input, no comparison interviews. I suspect he knew what he was going to do long before he did it.
“Hiring Jim Knowles was our top priority from the start of this process,” Heupel said. “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 playoff. His defenses are always physical, well prepared and can adapt quickly in-game against today’s complex offenses.
“He’s a competitor, a winner and someone who will get the most out of our players in practice and on game day. We are thrilled to welcome Jim …”
Heupel added some stuff about Knowles helping in the chase for championships. That was sales talk. Tennessee last caught one in 1998.
If I understand the fine print, Knowles is now the head coach of Tennessee defense. He can choose his helpers. He will determine system, scheme and alignment. He will decide who plays which position.
That is called control.
Two sources with information about Penn State football say “control” is why Knowles didn’t stay at Ohio State after the 2024 national championship season. Ryan Day, boss of the Buckeyes, butted in.
For control and a record $3.2 million contract, Knowles soon thereafter switched to Penn State. The most accomplished defensive coordinator in the college game is no longer there because things didn’t go well. His October defense wasn’t good enough to save that head coach’s job.
One source said Knowles got James Franklin fired on October 4. That was the ill-fated Saturday when winless, disorganized UCLA, 25-point underdog, shocked the No. 7 Nittany Lions. Nico Iamaleava ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more. The hapless Bruins gained 435 yards.
UCLA became the first 0-4 or worse team to beat a top-10 team in 40 years. Franklin survived for another week.
The second source, true to the calendar, said Franklin was fired the day after the less shocking loss to Northwestern, the game when Knowles’ defense failed to stop a fourth-quarter, 12-play, 75-yard drive.
Knowles wasn’t happy but he finished the season in Happy Valley. He was let go a couple of weeks ago, when Penn State finally got a new head coach. He was unemployed for just a few minutes. Heupel beat the crowd to his front door.
According to other coaches and elite media with vast knowledge, Heupel hit a home run. Knowles, 60, has an intriguing record and what sounds like an old-school persona.
His dad was a detective in Philadelphia. Jim supposedly grew up in a tough neighborhood. He said there was no grass on the playground but football saved his life.
He wanted to play in the big leagues but settled for Cornell. In his early 20s, he worked 9 to 5 in Boston financials. He was not happy. He returned to Cornell to learn to be a coach. He stayed eight years, coached different positions.
He went to Western Michigan as defensive line coach and became the coordinator. He was David Cutcliffe’s coordinator at Ole Miss. He had five years as head coach at Cornell. He rejoined Cutcliffe at Duke.
Cutcliffe says Knowles was a mad scientist that could get on a subject and not know anybody else was in the room.
“It was just magic.”
That was attention to details.
“It didn’t take long to realize his intelligence. This is a really smart guy, but a really down-to-earth guy.”
Everybody concedes Knowles is a teacher, a natural leader. Behind that, Cutcliffe says, is a great communicator.
After Knowles moved to Oklahoma State, critics discovered what he taught was too complex, that it took players a couple of years to catch on. Rivals noted Knowles never had a top defense in year one at any stop.
Mike Gundy, then head coach of the Cowboys, liked the development process just fine.
“Jim’s strength is game day. He understands what offenses are doing and how to attack them and stop them. … he is not rah-rah … he says ‘OK guys, this is the plan … if you do this, we’re going to have success.’”
Gundy described Knowles as a “brainiac” who went into isolation, shut his office door tight, for game-planning.
“That shouldn’t be mistaken for a coach who isn’t thoughtful or engaging.”
Scouting report: Knowles is not small talk or a warm, fuzzy personality. He does not like recruiting. He will do some when prospects visit.
Five-star edge rusher Anthony Sweeney of Olney, Maryland, has already had a taste. He was properly impressed. He says Tennessee made a great choice.
“Coach Knowles is renowned for coaching dominant defenses that pressure the quarterback and can win big-time games.”
Knowles does love blitzes, sacks and lost yardage. He is willing to take the risks that sometimes lead to big plays by the other side.
One source said “probably brilliant but different.”
Knowles has been studying Tennessee defensive coaches and Vols for a week. Changes he considers necessary will begin to show in early January. Safeties are extremely important in his defense. Anthony Poindexter, all-American at Virginia, College Hall of Fame honoree, coached that position for him at Penn State. He is available.
Just guessing Poindexter would be a quick translator for Vol defensive backs. Maybe it will happen. Maybe it is too logical.
If Knowles’ system really is too complex, if it takes too long for players to assemble the pieces, that is cause for concern in this era of roster turnover.
Complexity was a Tennessee problem back when Phillip Fulmer hired the very bright Dave Clawson as offensive coordinator in 2008. Vols never figured out what they were supposed to be doing. Fulmer was fired.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
