Well before Ohio State's run to the national title, there was chatter of tension on the defensive side of ball between the staff and head coach Ryan Day that really picked up after the Buckeyes tight October 12th loss to Oregon.
Despite giving up 32 points in that loss to the Ducks, Jim Knowles' defense was able to find their groove in his third season leading the defense, finishing atop the country in scoring defense allowing just under 13 points per game on the year.
With losses to Oregon and rival Michigan among their motivation entering the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff, Knowles' defense was dominant as the Buckeyes won it all and brought the national title back to Columbus.
Yet, just two days after winning trophy every team in college football is chasing, Jim Knowles picked up the phone on January 22nd just after 5am to call James Franklin at Penn State to inquire about the Nittany Lions defensive coordinator opening, ESPN shares in a piece today profiling arguably the most surprising coordinator move in college football this past off season.
In her article, ESPN's Heather Dinich explains that Knowles perspective that Ohio State's timing of contract extension discussions led to him exploring other options.
Knowles shares that he was hoping to have a new deal in place before Ohio State took on Notre Dame in the national title game, and had the Buckeyes offered him one before that game he would not have "explored or considered" other options.
But Ohio State chose not to.
"I did not want to put anyone, including myself, in a position to have to deal with it immediately following the national championship game, and that's the way it happened," Knowles told ESPN adding that the timing at that point made things "awkward."
That tension led to the very noticeable absence of Knowles during the team's championship parade on January 26th, an event that Knowles shares he was asked not to attend, and ultimately respected.
Penn State offered to make Knowles the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football with a salary of $3.1 million, and Knowles told ESPN there were other offers that were every bit as much money, and then there Ohio State's - which was still sizable - but not what the other schools were offering.
Knowles considered taking less to return for a fourth season in Columbus, but says when he was asked to not come to the parade, realized the writing was on the wall. Both athletic director Ross Bjork and Ryan Day declined comment in the ESPN article.
That, combined with the timing and his background growing up in Philadelphia as a Penn State fan, led to him landing with Big Ten rival James Franklin in Happy Valley opposed to other high profile openings at Notre Dame and Oklahoma.
Since adding Knowles, Franklin has publicly praised the new leadership at Penn State - most notably athletic director Pat Kraft - for committing the resources to land the man widely regarded as the top defensive coordinator in college football. Franklin shared a hire of Knowles caliber probably was not likely earlier in his tenure with the program, and that speaks to the vision they collectively share from the top down to take the next step as a program.