Tom Allen wore a weary smile in Penn State's locker room after the Orange Bowl as he surveyed a silent, still group of players hurting over the Nittany Lions' 27-24 loss to Notre Dame. Penn State's defensive coordinator, at least for that moment, tried to find context.

After a semifinal elimination during the College Football Playoffs, former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen decided to sign with the Clemson Tigers ahead of the 2025 campaign.

Penn State has made a massive splash by hiring Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to take the same job with the Nittany Lions. He replaces Tom Allen, who left PSU to become Clemson’s defensive coordinator. Here are three thoughts on what Penn State hiring Knowles means moving forward.

A longtime believer in “blooming where you’re planted,” Swinney has now made five straight outside hires for assistant coaches.

Tom Allen understands some of the questions surrounding his decision to leave Penn State after one highly-successful season to take a seemingly lateral move as Clemson‘s new defensive coordinator. Still,

Clemson went into the transfer portal this offseason and successfully landed key pieces for the first time under Dabo Swinney in this new era of college footbal

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Penn State formally hired Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to the same position Monday morning. Knowles replaces Tom Allen, who left after one year to become the defensive coordinator at Clemson.

This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania.

James Franklin has picked up his first win over Ohio State since 2016. Penn State poached Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles over the weekend. While Ryan Day and the Buckeyes were busy celebrating their first national title in 10 years with a party at Ohio Stadium,