Jim Knowles did not attend Ohio State football's championship celebration before leaving for Penn State. One Big Ten coach came to Knowles' defense.

Penn State's James Franklin explained, for the first time, of hiring away top defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State.

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.

James Franklin's off-season media availability became slightly heated when asked how the Jim Knowles hire went down

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — 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. The team’s season had just ended three days prior.

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

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.