Earlier this month, the Tennessee Vols hired former Ohio State and Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to replace Tim Banks on Rocky Top.

Banks, who arrived at Tennessee in 2021, was fired following Tennessee’s 21 point loss at home to Vanderbilt in the regular season finale.

Knowles left Ohio State after the Buckeyes won the national championship last season to join James Franklin’s staff at Penn State.

After the news broke that Knowles was leaving for a conference rival, a report surfaced that suggested the longtime defensive coordinator didn’t get along with Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson, a Buckeyes assistant since 2014 (who, oddly enough, left Penn State for Ohio State after the 2013 season).

The main issue between the two was a disagreement over how to use defensive lineman within Knowles’ scheme.

247Sports’ Bucknuts, however, suggested that the differences between the two coaches started to go beyond football.

“Knowles was not given full control (at Ohio State) because he had to fit his schematics with Larry Johnson’s defensive line plans, which was not an issue at Duke or Oklahoma State (Knowles’ previous stops),” wrote Patrick Murphy in January.

“Ohio State was able to make it work, but there was tension behind the scenes,” added Murphy. “Knowles and Johnson’s schematic differences started to go beyond football. While Day didn’t necessarily pick a side, he was not willing to force Johnson into something the legendary defensive line coach, who helped Urban Meyer win a national championship 10 years ago and continues to be a highly regarded developer and recruiter in the eyes of the industry, did not want to do. Johnson, believing in his way of doing things, did not want to relent and change.”

What Ryan Day said about Jim Knowles and Larry Johnson

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was asked in April about the relationship between Knowles and Johnson.

Day told 97.1 The Fan that there were never any issues between Knowles and Johnson.

“So, you know, there’s been a lot of speculation like you said, of kind of like, ‘all right, so what happened after that (2024 Oregon) game?’” said Day. “The the first thing I would say, and you can ask Larry, Jim, or anybody who was in that room, there was never any issue between Larry and, and Jim, never. I thought they both were very professional, got along well, worked together well, and if you grab either of those guys, they would say the same thing. But when we got out of that game, I mean the bottom line was what happened in that game was we didn’t get a line fast enough. We didn’t.”

It’s not unusual for coaches to have disagreements on scheme and strategy (it’s probably healthy, to be honest). It’s also not unusual for stories to take on a life of their own (though to Bucknuts’ credit, they were fair in their reporting and didn’t sensationalize anything…but the internet does what it does).

I’ve seen some Vols fans who are concerned about the Knowles/Johnson drama because there’s a chance that Knowles will be working a similarly respected defensive line coach at Tennessee in Rodney Garner (it hasn’t been confirmed that Garner will return to Tennessee in 2026, but it’s a possibility).

Ultimately, though, it sounds like Knowles and Johnson handled their disagreements in an extremely professional way. Which isn’t a surprise considering the Buckeyes cruised through the College Football Playoff on their way to claiming the national championship last season.

Tennessee Volunteers News

‘I kind of blew it off’ – The same challenge Jim Knowles blew off at Ohio State will be present at Tennessee

One of the biggest challenges of coaching at a big-time college football program is that no matter how successful you are, there are always going to be some fans who want you fired — or at least have some complaints. The truth is, of course, that sometimes things just don’t go your way in sports. […]

Zach Ragan