The Ohio State Buckeyes won the national championship in convincing fashion this season. After many lost faith in the program following their fourth consecutive loss to their arch-rival Michigan Wolverines, the Bucks responded in a big way.
Ohio State was utterly dominant on both sides of the ball in a playoff run that saw them roll over the Tennessee Volunteers, Oregon Ducks, Texas Longhorns, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish en route to hosting the big trophy.
Unfortunately, the core of coaches that won Ohio State the title is breaking up, and it appears as if there’s some bad blood between the parties.
“Ohio State DC Jim Knowles was asked by school not to attend Buckeyes’ national title celebration while he deliberated his options, source said. Knowles’ representation tried to reach deal w/OSU week before title game & immediately after, but eventual offer was “well below” the competition, source said.
“Knowles signed a 3-year, $9.3 million deal w/Penn State Sunday,” reported Action Network’s Brett McMurphy on Monday.
Ohio State DC Jim Knowles was asked by school not to attend Buckeyes’ national title celebration while he deliberated his options, source said. Knowles’ representation tried to reach deal w/OSU week before title game & immediately after, but eventual offer was “well below” the…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 27, 2025
Fans reacted on social media to the news that the University wouldn’t let Knowles attend the parade while he contemplated his future, which may have had an impact on his final decision to head to Penn State.
“That would skew the payroll at OSU as all the other assistants would need a raise as well.. But, I do think a deal in that range would be what it takes to keep Chip Kelley. Not sure OSU has the stomach for that plus the others they will need to elevate. Should be interesting,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“This is great work by Knowles Agent,” one fan added.
“This is such obvious spin by Jim’s agent. If he were deliberating his options, why was the news immediately leaked after the celebration? The news outlets were already sitting on the story waiting to break it. Folks should do some actual reporting and ask OSU players about it,” another person wrote.
It’ll be interesting to see if there’s more to the story that the public doesn’t have yet.
