Ohio State has lost its defensive coordinator to a Big Ten rival. Penn State announced Monday it had hired Jim Knowles as its defensive coordinator. According to multiple reports, Knowles reached a three-year contract with an average annual salary of $3.

As Ryan Day looks to hire his fourth defensive coordinator in seven seasons, here are potential candidates to replace Jim Knowles.

After Michigan football ran, ran again, and ran some more against rival Ohio State in 2021, Ryan Day recognized that he needed to make something of a drastic change. Out was longtime OSU staffer Kerry Coombs as the defensive coordinator, and in was Oklahoma State DC Jim Knowles.

Penn State has lured Tom Knowles away from Ohio State. The Nittany Lions have hired Knowles to serve as their defensive coordinator.

The Nittany Lions reportedly made the former Ohio State assistant college football's highest-paid defensive coordinator.

CBS Sports reports that Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is leaving the Buckeyes to join James Franklin's staff at Penn State. Knowles is expected to be paid an average of $3.1 million over three years, according to ESPN . During Knowles' time at Ohio State, the Buckeyes ranked in the top three in total defense for two of those years.

Nittany Lions coach James Franklin seeks to make a bold move, hiring the architect of the Buckeyes' championship defense.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are standing alone at the top of the college football mountain after manhandling the field in the first-ever 12-team college football playoff in route to defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the national championship.