James Franklin swung for the fences. Penn State empowered him to do so.
Now, the Nittany Lions are on the verge of making perhaps the biggest move of the entire coaching cycle.
Several sources tell FootballScoop that Penn State is working to finalize a deal with vaunted defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, the braintrust of Ohio State's national championship-winning defense.
Per sources, the deal is expected to make Knowles the highest-paid defensive coordinator in all of college football.
With sources telling FootballScoop the pact is projected to be worth more than $3 million annually, it's also key to note that Knowles has two full years remaining on his current pact with Ohio State.
That deal has paid Knowles more than $2 million annually and stipulated a buyout of 30% on any remaining guaranteed portion of the deal; that sum has been projected to be approximately $1.2 million.
Knowles was hired away from Oklahoma State to take over the Ohio State defense three years ago as the Buckeyes sought to elevate their defensive production.
Knowles did not attend Ohio State’s national championship celebration Saturday.
ESPN also has reported Penn State is trying to finalize a deal with Knowles.
He's also a former head coach at Cornell. Several sources told FootballScoop that Knowles also was targeted by Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman, who must replace the departed Al Golden -- like Knowles, widely considered among the elite defensive coordinators in college football.
Golden accepted the defensive coordinator position earlier this week with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals.
Franklin, who guided Penn State to a Big Ten runner-up finish, has been in the market for a new defensive coordinator since losing Tom Allen to Clemson immediately after the Nittany Lions lost to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl in the semifinal round of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
The Nittany Lions are set to have a new defensive coordinator for a third-straight season; they lost Manny Diaz a year ago when he departed to replace Mike Elko atop the Duke program.