Ohio State head coach Ryan Day addressed questions about his relationship with former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, and the answers weren’t exactly warm. The two will meet on opposite sidelines Saturday when the Buckeyes host Penn State at noon in Ohio Stadium.
Knowles left Columbus in late January for Penn State. He signed a three-year deal averaging $3.1 million per season to become Penn State’s defensive coordinator and the highest-paid assistant coach in college football history.
The departure came just days after Ohio State won the national championship. Most of the coaching carousel had already stopped spinning by then, which left Day scrambling to find a replacement. He eventually hired Matt Patricia, a move that came after what Day described as a difficult period when most available candidates had already accepted positions elsewhere.
Penn State needed a replacement after Tom Allen left for Clemson, and they pursued Knowles aggressively. Ohio State had extended an offer to Knowles that would have made him the highest-paid coordinator in the country, ahead of Michigan’s Wink Martindale and LSU’s Blake Baker, who were both set to earn $2.5 million.
Knowles also received interest from Notre Dame and Oklahoma. But Penn State won out. Knowles coached the nation’s number one defense for Ohio State in 2024, finishing first in total defense and scoring defense at just 12.9 points per game.
Day Opens Up About Limited Communication Since Knowles’ Penn State Move
The head coach made it clear there hasn’t been much dialogue between him and Knowles since the defensive coordinator made his exit, suggesting not all breakups lead to continued friendship or regular contact.
Ryan Day on his relationship with Jim Knowles:
“Like any relationship, when it breaks off, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, but there really hasn’t been much communication,” Day said. “He did a great job when he was here, helped us win a national championship, kind of…
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“Like any relationship, when it breaks off, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. But there really hasn’t been much communication,” Day said.
He followed that by noting what Knowles accomplished during his three seasons in Columbus before the relationship reached its conclusion. “He did a great job when he was here, helped us win a national championship, and kind of left it at that. And then it was, ‘Hey, we got to go make a replacement,’ and move on from there. So yeah, that’s kind of how it is. It was abrupt, but we certainly respect the work that he did when he was here.”
The head coach explained how the unusual timeline created challenges for the program. “There was a lag time between when Jim left and when we hired Matt where I think a lot of people were like, ‘Man, is he going to hire one here pretty soon?’ But it left us in a tough spot because the hiring cycle was already sort of done,” Day said. “But the fact that Matt was available, man, it ended up being a home run.”
The coach also took time during his press conference to redirect some credit toward the assistant coaches who remained on staff and helped bridge the transition from Knowles to Patricia.
Day and Knowles will see each other across the field for the first time since the split on Saturday, which adds a personal edge to a matchup that usually means something in the conference race. This time around, though, the stakes look different than anyone expected when the schedule came out months ago.
