Tennessee's Hiring of Jim Knowles Could Boom or Bust for the Volunteers in 2026

The Tennessee Volunteers' hiring of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles could be a massive hire, or a massive flop for the Vols' in 2026.

When the Tennessee Volunteers' 2025 college football season came to a close, it was fairly accepted that there were changes needed, should the Vols have aspirations of reaching the College Football Playoff.

With that, head coach Josh Heupel elected to move on from defensive coordinator Tim Banks in favor of hiring Penn State's Jim Knowles. The former Nitanny Lions coordinator come with a massive prestige that brings massive potential to the Vols' defense in 2026.

Knowles was a part of the Ohio State Buckeyes' 2024 national championship season that saw the team go on an extremely impressive postseason run. During that season, the Buckeyes' defense held opponents to a nation's-best 12.9 points per game, while playing some of its best football during the College Football Playoff.

But Knowles' most recent body of work also brings some questions into his hiring. After helping Ohio State to a title, the coordinator joined James Franklin's Penn State staff ahead of the 2025 season. The on-field results, however, were drastically different as the Nitanny Lions finished with a disappointing record of 7-6, which ultimately led to Franklin's firing.

How Jim Knowles Can Become a Massive Success for Tennessee

Mar 7, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles motions to players during spring football practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Knowles brings an impressive body of work, including a national championship with 2024 Ohio State, but his defense strangely became part of the problem in Franklin’s final season," wrote USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer. "Even so, Knowles brought in some talented players from Penn State, none more important than defensive linemen Chaz Coleman and Xavier Gilliam."

With such varying results in recent seasons, the hiring of Jim Knowles could come with a massive payoff for Josh Heupel, and Tennessee or could be a devastating failure for the program and set the team back a handful of years.

The Volunteers are heading into the 2026 season with a difficult schedule, but will have ample amounts of talent on both sides of the football. Should Knowles help the team elevate its defensive output, Tennessee could be one of the nation's better teams this upcoming year and could reach their second-ever College Football Playoff.

Tennessee will begin it's 2026 college football season on Saturday, September 5th, when it hosts the Furman Paladins in its season opener. A TV network and kick off time for this game will be announced at a later date.