Jim Knowles (born April 16, 1965) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and former player. He is currently the defensive coordinator and

linebackers coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. Knowles served as the head football coach at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

from 2004 to 2009.

Career

A 1987 graduate of

, Knowles was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

on the Big Red football team. He was elected to Cornell's

Sphinx Head Society The Sphinx Head Society is the oldest senior honor society at Cornell University. Sphinx Head recognizes Cornell senior men and women who have demonstrated respectable strength of character on top of a dedication to leadership and service at Corn ...

during his senior year, ultimately graduating with a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations in 1987. Prior to receiving the head coach position, Knowles served as an assistant at Cornell,

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

and the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

Cornell

From 2004 to 2009, he compiled a 26–34 record as head football coach at

Duke

On December 28, 2009, Knowles was named the defensive coordinator at Duke under head coach

David Cutcliffe David Nelson Cutcliffe (born September 16, 1954) is the Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Football Relations at the Southeastern Conference and former college football coach, most recently head coach of the Duke University Blue Devils. ...

. Knowles had previously served as linebackers coach under Cutcliffe while he was head coach at the

(Ole Miss) in 2003.

Oklahoma State

On January 29, 2018, Knowles was hired as the defensive coordinator at

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

under head coach

Mike Gundy Michael Ray Gundy (born August 12, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Oklahoma State University. Gundy played college football at Oklahoma State, where he played quarterback from 1986 to 1989. ...

, and held the position through the 2021 season. During Knowles' time at Oklahoma State, the Cowboys' defense saw significant statistical improvements. After regressing in areas like opponent points per play and opponent yards per play during Knowles' first season, Oklahoma State's defense improved in each of Knowles' next three seasons. For the 2021 season, Knowles' defense finished top ten in areas such as opponent points per play, opponent points per game, opponent yards per play, opponent yards per game, opponent yards per rush attempt, opponent rushing yards per game, team sack percentage, and sacks per game.

Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...

coach Ryan Day announced on December 7, 2021 that Knowles had accepted the defensive coordinator position for his team effective January 2, 2022.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Oklahoma State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Jim 1965 births Living people American football defensive ends Cornell Big Red football coaches Cornell Big Red football players Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Western Michigan Broncos football coaches St. Joseph's Preparatory School alumni Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations alumni Players of American football from Philadelphia Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania