Man with a plan
How Jim Knowles is bringing his defense and style to OSU
Meet Jim Knowles, Oklahoma State’s new defensive coordinator.
STILLWATER — Jim Knowles starts talking, and you know he ain't from around here.
It's not that his words regularly spill out rapidfire. Or that his hands often move as fast as his mouth does. What gives it away are the occasional bits of Philly that come popping out. A vowel that is drawn out just atad. A consonant that is added where one isn't supposed to be.
But Tuesday when the new Oklahoma State defensive coordinator met with the media for the first time since being hired last winter, the longer he talked, the less you thought about how the Philadelphia native sounded. You focused instead on what he had to say. He knows what he wants the Cowboys to do and how he wants them to do it.
He has an old-school mentality but a new-age methodology.
"We don't want to give up anything," he said, his hands moving and his volume rising with nearly each word. "How many times do you just see defenses give up? Teams are going to score, but you want to be able to just compete for it."
He emphasized those last three words.
"How do you teach that?" he said. "You teach it the way these kids learn. You teach it fast. You teach it kind of in their face."
Ask people around the football program what they've learned about Knowles in the six months he's been on the job, and they'll mention the way he runs his meetings.
Even the offensive coaches are impressed.
The defense's change of style has been oft discussed— more defensive backs, less zone coverage, more-one-on-one matchups, less sitting back and playing it safe— and all of that is true. Knowles wants to play a more attacking style, even though such things can leave a defense vulnerable in the oft-throwing, field-stretching Big 12.
But Knowles knows that he can't expect his defense to play differently if he doesn't coach differently.
"I think the way that we teach this generation is different," said the 53-yearold whose hair is graying all over and thinning on top. "I've spent a lot of time studying the best way to reach 18- to 23-yearolds. It's different. Their upbringing is different. It's instant gratification. It's pop-up ads. It's video games."
Often, you hear how such things are bad.
Knowles doesn't see it that way. He figures if his players are absorbing information that way in their everyday lives, why not use it in the meeting room?
Knowles will teach a concept or a technique in a meeting, then immediately call on a player.
"Their picture pops up on the screen, and they have to stand up and answer a question about something we just talked about five minutes ago," he said. "You'd be amazed how hard that is sometimes."
Knowles uses all sorts of on-screen-bits in his meetings. Avitars. Games. GIFs. All are adapted to test his players.
"We're constantly asking them questions," he said. "You know how fast the game goes, especially in the Big 12. There's no time to think."
His madness has meaning.
"We want to be the fastest play-calling defense in the country," Knowles said, "which means you can be multiple if you're fast."
Perhaps this sounds a bit too gimmicky for some, but the assistants coaching alongside Knowles have already seen results.
"If we have a 20-minute meeting, the young men are going to get 20 minutes of information," said former Cowboy defensive end and new co-defensive line coach Greg Richmond. "Everything is functional. It not only gets the players involved. It gets the coaches involved."
And it got pretty darn good results before. Duke isn't known for its football prowess, but last season, Knowles and the Blue Devil defense allowed only 20.2 points a game.
Of course, the ACC doesn't have as much offense as the Big 12, but last season, Duke faced challenges from the likes of Miami, Florida State, Pitt and Virginia Tech. Of those teams, only Miami scored more than 30 points against Duke.
Will the same sort of thing happen at OSU?
The challenge is significant, but Knowles has already won over lots of converts inside the Cowboy football program.
"Our kids have rallied around what Jim's doing. Our coaches have, too," Cowboy receiver coach Kasey Dunn said. "He's a good one."
Even if it's obvious that Knowles ain't from around here.
"He doesn't come rollin' in boots," Dunn said, chuckling. "But he's done a great job here and he's adapted well. He's here because he's a good ball coach."
He's a funny dude, too. In addition to that Philly accent, Knowles has a sharp East Coast wit.
He didn't play ina morning golf scramble that included many of the Cowboy assistants at Karsten Creek Golf Course, and I asked why.
"I looked in the coaching handbook," he deadpanned, "and page 3, subsection 10: 'Big 12 defensive coordinators are not allowed to play golf within 72 hours of the start of camp.'"
Players report for practice Wednesday.
So, how is this Philadelphia native adjusting to life in Stillwater?
"Football coaches, we don't get to see that much of wherever we live," he said. "I don't really remember many of my neighbors.
"I'm unfortunately not going to be that guy leading the neighborhood watch." He chuckled.
"You want to be in a football town, and Stillwater's a football town."
Safe to say, Jim Knowles has already brought a little Philly to Stilly.
I’ve spent a lot of time studying the best way to reach 18- to 23-year-olds. It’s different. Their upbringing is different. It’s instant gratification. It’s pop-up ads. It’s video games.”
Jim Knowles