Jim Knowles is inheriting a talent defensive coaching staff as he comes to Happy Valley from Ohio State, but he won’t have Robb Smith as an analyst after the long-time coach returned for a third stint at Rutgers.
During his introductory press conference at Penn State, former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles emphasized the advantage of joining a coaching staff filled with experienced assistants already well-established in their roles. Head coach James Franklin has successfully retained cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, safeties coach Anthony Poindexter, and defensive line coach Deion Barnes, even as the team transitioned from Manny Diaz to Tom Allen last offseason and now from Allen to Knowles.
“It makes my job much easier,” Knowles stated to reporters on Tuesday. “The entire process is smoother when working with the talented coaches that Coach Franklin has here, who are genuinely committed to the school and the program. They all want to do what’s best.”
However, just before his formal introduction in Happy Valley, Knowles faced a setback as one of his new staff members took a play-calling position in the Big Ten. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Rutgers has hired Penn State analyst Robb Smith as its co-defensive coordinator and defensive play caller.
Sources: Rutgers is set to hire Robb Smith as the school’s co-defense coordinator and defensive play caller. This will be his third stop as a defensive coordinator at Rutgers, and third time overall at the school. He’s been the DC at Arkansas, Minnesota and Duke. pic.twitter.com/7AadUQQslz
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 4, 2025
Smith boasts an impressive history in football and a strong connection with Rutgers head coach Gregg Schiano. He was part of Schiano’s staff in Piscataway from 2009 to 2011 and remained under Kyle Flood for the 2012 season. After that, Smith rejoined Schiano as defensive coordinator in 2020-21, before taking the same role at Duke with Mike Elko in 2022. Most recently, he spent the last two years in Happy Valley as an analyst on Franklin’s staff.
Even with the departure of Allen and ongoing changes at the defensive coordinator position under Franklin—following Pry’s move to Virginia Tech, Diaz’s transition to Duke, and Allen’s switch to Clemson—Penn State has not suffered a substantial loss of talent on that side of the ball. The program still has a strong group of assistant coaches that Knowles will inherit as he aims to build the top defense in the nation and secure another national championship.
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