jim knowles: “Don't hear Tom Brady renegotiating his deal before the Super Bowl”: Ex-Ohio State star unimpressed by Jim Knowles’ handling of contract talks

Former Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Bobby Carpenter was unhappy about how former Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles handled his contract extension last season.

During "The Bobby Carpenter Show" on Friday, the host shared his two cents on Knowles' failed contract negotiation, eventually leading to him taking the job as Penn State's defensive coordinator.

"You don't hear Tom Brady renegotiating his deal before the Super Bowl," Carpenter said. "And that week, we shredded Nico Iamaleava at Tennessee for trying to renegotiate his deal right before the playoff, and then again before the spring game."

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As Carpenter said, it's strange for teams to negotiate contracts before a championship game or during an important stretch of games, when everyone's attention is expected to be on the task at hand.

Jim Knowles oversaw the Buckeyes' top-ranked defense last year. The unit allowed 254.9 yards and 12.9 points per game. It was also an integral part of the playoff run, shutting down Tennessee and Oregon for most of those games and coming up with key turnovers against Texas in the CFP semifinal.

Ironically, Knowles' defense was also instrumental in the Buckeyes' Nov. 2 victory at Penn State. Ohio State stopped the Nittany Lions four times inside their five-yard line in the fourth quarter of the 20-13 win.

Ohio State hired former Detroit Lions head coach and New England Patriots assistant Matt Patricia as the defensive coordinator.

Why did Jim Knowles leave Ohio State?

In an interview with ESPN's Heather Dinich on Tuesday, Jim Knowles opened up on the reasons he left Columbus to become the new defensive coordinator at Penn State.

"Season's over, everything coming to a head again quickly," Knowles said. "Ohio State hasn't come forward with a deal, and it's like, OK, if I'm going to act on this or at least explore it, I have got to make the call."

Knowles also said that if he had gotten the offer before the team faced Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff championship game, he wouldn't have even explored leaving the Buckeyes.

The exit also created a strange situation for the national championship event held at the school's campus. Knowles was asked not to go, and the news of his move to Penn State was released soon after.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

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Edited by Ribin Peter