The Ohio State Buckeyes are fresh off winning the program's ninth national championship and have already turned their attention to defending their title in 2025. In the days following the Buckeyes' College Football Playoff Championship Game triumph,

Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles left the Buckeyes program in a surprising turn of events, accepting the same job with the Penn State Nittany Lions

As Ryan Day looks to hire his fourth defensive coordinator in seven seasons, here are potential candidates to replace Jim Knowles.

Should Ohio State lure Hampton away from Eugene, it would be the second year in a row that the Buckeyes took a coach from Oregon. Last year, after running backs coach Tony Olford left Columbus to coach RBs for the Michigan Wolverines, the Buckeyes hired Ducks running backs coach Carlos Locklyn.

With Jim Knowles leaving Ohio State for Penn State, Oregon co-DC Chris Hampton is a candidate to replace him in Columbus.

Fresh off a national title, the Buckeyes will be looking for a new defensive coordinator. Jim Knowles has left for conference rival Penn State and Ryan Day has his first hurdle of the offseason to deal with.