Tennessee is targeting Penn State 's Jim Knowles to be its defensive coordinator, and is expected to finalize a deal soon, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Knowles, in his first season at Penn State, is not being retained by new Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell . He came to Penn State from national champion Ohio State , as the linchpin of coach James Franklin's 2025 staff, and received a three-year contract that made him one of the nation's highest-paid assistants at $3.1 million annually. But Penn State fired Franklin just six games into the season .

Tennessee fired defensive coordinator Tim Banks on Monday , after five seasons with the school. Banks was a finalist for the Broyles Award, which goes to the nation's top assistant, just last season and received a contract throu

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