Jim Knowles was hired to replace Tim Banks as the Tennessee Vols’ defensive coordinator in December.

Knowles, a Philadelphia native, previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions (he won a national championship with Ohio State in 2024).

Hiring Knowles is a huge move for Josh Heupel and the Vols — it shows the program’s commitment to winning at a high level.

It’s also a move, however, that comes with some risk.

Knowles’ defense has a reputation for being difficult to learn. As a result, the second year of a Knowles’ defense is usually more successful than year one.

Unfortunately, the current state of college football expects immediate results. Building programs and developing players is taking a backseat around the sport in favor of instant success (which usually requires unwise shortcuts).

Former Vol hits Jim Knowles with a tough dose of reality

Former Tennessee defensive back Charles Davis, who is set to take over as CBS Sports’ lead college football analyst in 2026, joined WNML’s SportsTalk on Wednesday morning.

Davis discussed Tennessee’s addition of Knowles during the conversation.

The former Vol specifically pointed out that Knowles will need to find instant success due to the current landscape of college football.

“The interesting part with Jim Knowles, as a general rule with his defenses, and things are going to be a little bit different,” said Davis. “Prior to NIL and the transfer (portal), you know, 45 guys now change (teams) year in and year out, that sort of a deal. The reputation was that the second year of Jim Knowles’ defense was really going to be special because of how he teaches, what he asks, and putting it all together.

“That second year of implementation — whoa, look out. But nowadays, you don’t have a second year of implementation, right? It has to happen right here, right now. Because the next year, you may be looking at entirely different people (on the roster). Those old days of when I was a dinosaur and coach used to say, ‘You know what the best thing is about a freshman? He’s going to be a sophomore.’ Those days are long gone.”

Davis, unfortunately, is spot on. It’s a playoff or bust mentality for every major fan base now — mostly because of the ability to rapidly improve rosters via the transfer portal.

This mentality is why Lane Kiffin is already on the hot seat at LSU, despite the fact that he hasn’t coached a game yet.

The good news for Tennessee is that Knowles is aware of his reputation. And he feels confident that bringing along several coaches and players from his past stops will help Tennessee’s defense quickly find success in 2026.

“I’ve heard that,” said Knowles last month on The Mike Keith Show. “Not that I read those things, but people tell me that. So I think we’ll go back, and we’re working on that now. Every new opportunity that you have to install it, you’ve got to find better ways. So I think part of being a great coach is being adjustable and adaptable and listening. A lot of guys get stuck in their ways. So if that’s what some players may have said, I have to take that into account.

“And we’re looking at ways to simplify things early on so we can make more progress quickly. Now, one of the things is having coaches who have been with me, which I haven’t had in the past, so that always takes time. And having some players that have been with me too. So I think we’ll be way ahead on both of those counts.”

Nearly everyone in college football is facing the same challenge. Knowles’ ability to get to Tennessee’s defense to perform at a high level as quickly as possible will go a long way in determining how successful the Vols are in 2026.

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