Will Ohio State’s defensive coordinator consider more head coach opportunities after Duke conversation?

Ohio State Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles Reportedly Met With Duke Regarding Open Head Coaching Position - Buckeye Huddle

ARLINGTON, Texas — Ohio State football defensive coordinator Jim Knowles made sure to single out his linebacker group as one which has made considerable strides during prep for the Cotton Bowl.

Starting linebacker Steele Chambers, expected to play his final game as a Buckeye on Friday against Missouri, wondered if his position coach had gone soft.

“I’m surprised he’s frickin’ giving us compliments and stuff,” Chambers said. “He usually doesn’t do that. He says if he gives us too much sugar we’re going to be diabetic.”

No stranger to sarcasm, Chambers admitted Knowles’ hard edge helped him and the rest of the defense improve significantly over the past two seasons. His system brought OSU a defensive identity, and his presence can bring stability after a period of turnover in the defensive leadership.

Duke reportedly talked to Knowles about its head coach position prior to hiring Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. Knowles declined to say how far those talks went or any other specifics of the Blue Devils’ job. He spent eight years with the program as defensive coordinator and his name becoming attached to that job, even beyond mere speculation, was not a surprise.

One of the supposed selling points on hiring Knowles was his perceived lack of interest in returning to the head coaching ranks. (He went 26-34 in six seasons at his alma mater, Cornell, from 2004-09.)

Knowles cannot and probably should not come right out and say he has no interest in head coaching jobs. At the level at which he is being paid — he is in the second year of a three-year deal at $1.9 million annually — few coordinator jobs could lure him away. The possibility of leaving for a head coaching position creates some leverage for the next contract negotiation.

Speaking more broadly Tuesday, Knowles said his perspective has changed since he was a younger coach striving for that head coaching opportunity.

“I’ve worked my whole career to get to a place where you’re expected to win all the time — where you’re given the resources, where you have a shot to play for the national championship every year,” Knowles said.

“So any of those opportunities, while you’re always grateful, I try to look at it from this is where I always worked to be. And you have to judge that against the benefits of being a head coach versus being at a place that’s top-five premier all the time with high expectations and talent. From where I started to get here, I don’t take that lightly. That’s not something you leave easily for any job, head coach or not.”

Ohio State coach Ryan Day hired Knowles with the explicit expectation he would act as “head coach of the defense.” The breakthrough they sought came this season, when OSU ranked among the national leaders in yards allowed per play (third), third down defense (eighth) and red zone touchdowns allowed (eighth).

With the potential for a mass return of NFL Draft-eligible underclassmen, the Buckeyes did not want an interruption to the momentum they have built.

“It’s really huge he’s coming back,” defensive end Jack Sawyer said. “Going through a D coordinator change is tough. No one likes to do that. You saw what happened when you go from the first year to the second year, how big of a jump we took.”

Knowles knows what it feels like to want to be a head coach. He said he does not feel the same pull at 58.

No way to know if that urge will return. For now, he sounds content to oversee what could be one of the nation’s best defenses again in 2024.

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