Who could be Penn State football’s next defensive coordinator? Here are 5 candidates
Penn State is looking to hire a defensive coordinator for the second time in two years. And, much like the last time around, the financial aspect of hiring a candidate shouldn’t be an issue.
With last year’s hire, Tom Allen, off to lead the Clemson defense, let’s take a look at some of the candidates who could join Penn State for the 2025 season — with all five currently at Power-4 programs in college football.
Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles
This might not be the most likely outcome, but it should be head coach James Franklin’s first call. Knowles is one of the best defensive coordinators in the country and has been for several years, employing a 4-2-5 defense that Franklin’s coordinators have leaned into in recent years.
He’s an ideal target because of his experience, scheme, local ties (he’s from Philadelphia) and has been a Franklin target before, with his name popping up when the head coach ultimately hired Manny Diaz and Knowles left Oklahoma State for Ohio State in 2021. The veteran defensive coordinator may be a long shot, especially if the Buckeyes go on to win the national title over Notre Dame on Monday, but he’d be a home run hire and have Penn State in position to be elite again in 2025.
Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines
While Knowles is the optimal veteran target, Haines might be the best “inexperienced” option. He’s only been a full-time defensive coordinator for three seasons but has been highly successful in that time under Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti.
Haines followed Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana and brought with him his own 4-2-5 defense that allowed the Hoosiers to get their five best defensive backs on the field and match up with opposing offenses. He led the Indiana defense, which lacked the same level of elite talent as many of its peers, to a No. 13 ranking in ESPN analyst Bill Connelly’s SP+, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. While Haines has spent most of his career with CIgnetti, this could be a chance for him to do what Andy Kotelnicki did last year when he stepped away from the Lance Leipold coaching staff to pursue his own greater aspirations.
Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks
Banks would be reuniting with Franklin and the Penn State staff after leaving for Tennessee in 2021. The now-defensive coordinator was the PSU co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2016-2020 and was ultimately replaced by Anthony Poindexter after leaving to join the Volunteers. Since then he’s helped build one of the best defenses in the SEC, with it topping out at No. 4 in the country in SP+ this season.
Banks’ ties to Detroit helped the Nittany Lions build their defense when he was with the program previously, and he would once again position Penn State to succeed in that area. It helps, too, that he would be coming off a playoff berth and would be leaving a top-level program to join the staff in what would be a lateral move. His position makes him a coveted candidate, but could limit the likelihood that Penn State is able to convince him to leave Tennessee.
Penn State co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter
The best internal candidate on staff is one that has long been positioned to take the next step in his coaching career. Poindexter is a college football legend and Hall of Famer who has been with the Nittany Lions since Banks left in 2021. He’s the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, much like he was for four years before that with Purdue, although he has only three years experience of serving as defensive coordinator by himself — with Connecticut from 2014-2016.
That being said, he’s played a large role in the defense as-is and has developed some of the best safeties in his time with the Nittany Lions, with Jaylen Reed, K.J. Winston and Zakee Wheatley all becoming all-conference-level safeties just in the last year. While his resume won’t necessarily stack up with some of the other candidates, he may be the most deserving of the bunch based on familiarity and what he’s accomplished as a member of the Penn State coaching staff.
USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn
Another familiar name with Penn State ties, Lynn is admittedly less appealing as a candidate than he was a year ago when he was elevating a paltry UCLA defense. This season he helped a bad USC defense take a step forward to mediocrity (No. 46 in SP+), but some of that wore off by midseason when the highly talented group began to falter against some of their best opponents.
That being said, he’s still a young candidate with room for growth, and his time as a Nittany Lion from 2008-2011 should have him well-equipped to handle some of the challenges that come with coaching at a university like this one. Like many of the candidates for the job, it remains to be seen if he’d be open to a move. Still, Lynn would have been a great hire a year ago, and one season of slightly missing expectations shouldn’t have a massive impact on how he would be viewed this time around.
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 1:58 PM.
