James Franklin thought he was cooking. Fresh off an embarrassing Playoff L to Notre Dame, the man hit the recruiting trail hard, stacking his coaching staff with elite minds. First, he bagged Jim Knowles—fresh off a natty with Ohio State—for a cool $3.

Penn State's James Franklin explained, for the first time, of hiring away top defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State.

Sports includes James Franklin among the most likely coaches to be the next first-time national championship winner.

James Franklin's off-season media availability became slightly heated when asked how the Jim Knowles hire went down

After falling one game short of the CFP National Championship Game, the Penn State Nittany Lions will attempt to finish the job in 2025.

Jim Knowles did not attend Ohio State football's championship celebration before leaving for Penn State. One Big Ten coach came to Knowles' defense.

Coach Ryan Day’s group also went nuclear by adding quarterback Will Howard, running back Quinshon Judkins and corner Caleb Downs via the transfer portal, but you get the point.

Ohio State won the national championship game ... According to Knowles' new boss, Nittany Lion head coach James Franklin, the defensive coordinator planned to join his players and participate ...

Penn State Nittany Lions HC James Franklin, who coached Saquon Barkley in the NCAAF, shared his thoughts on the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl victory.

Franklin had talked to Knowles in December 2021 shortly after defensive coordinator Brent Pry, one of his longtime assistants, left Penn State to become head coach at Virginia Tech. Knowles wound up going to Ohio State and the Lions ended up hiring Manny Diaz, who enjoyed two very successful seasons before he became head coach at Duke.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — In the days after the Orange Bowl, Penn State’s players gathered on campus for a team meeting. At that point in January, they found out defensive coordinator Tom Allen was leaving for Clemson and that James Franklin would do his part to hire the best candidate he could. The team’s season had just ended three days prior.

The Penn State Nittany Lions are looking to be contenders once again in the NCAAF, and James Franklin knows they have strengthened their roster thanks to the Transfer Portal.