National Reporter Shares Honest Thoughts on Tennessee Hiring Jim Knowles

A national reporter shares his honest thoughts on the Tennessee Vols defensive coordinator hire.

Penn State first-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles talks with reporters during football media day in Beaver Stadium on Saturday, August 3, 2024, in State College. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers have been looking to land one of the better coordinators in college football for the defensive staff, as they recently had to let go of their defensive coordinator, Tim Banks. Banks is a guy who has spent a lot of time with the Tennessee Volunteers as a defensive coordinator, and will be on his way to take on another job sooner than later, as he is a guy who has been called a top-20 defensive coordinator in the past, but Tennessee fans have been asking the question, "how"?

The Vols made some moves on Wednesday after multiple names being linked to the job, as the Tennessee Volunteers landed a top defensive coordinator in the nation who has a lot of solid years in his time throughout college. The Vols landed former National Championship-winning defensive coordinator and Penn State's defensive coordinator for the season, Jim Knowles.

Knowles helped the Ohio State Buckeyes win the national championship just a season ago, and that is exactly what the Vols have their sights on. Knowles is viewed in many different regards, and many have already started to comment on the situation, including "The Film Guy" Brooks Austin. Here is what Austin had to say when speaking about the Tennessee Vols' new hire on the defensive side of the football.

Brooks Austin Shares His Thoughts

Apr 26, 2025; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jim Knowles walks on the field prior to the Blue White spring game at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

"Jim Knowles to Tennessee has a chance to be really good. But first years in that system are tough. It’s intricate. It’s detailed. It takes time. If you’re patient enough, great hire," said Brooks Austin when posting about the Vols hiring Knowles on his personal social media page.

The Vols will be playing in their final game of the 2025 football season in December. This is a post-season game that will be played inside the Tennessee Titans' home stadium. The bowl game that they received is the Music City Bowl, which is the same bowl game that the Vols played in during Josh Heupel's first season as the head football coach of the Vols, when the Vols were defeated by the Purdue Boilermakers in questionable fashion.

They will be playing against the Illinois Fighting Illini, who are one of the teams that have made a major impact at certain points this season, and have the same overall record as the Vols. In this game, William Inge will be the interim defensive coordinator, but after that, all of the focus will turn to the new guy, a.k.a. Jim Knowles.

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