After he helped guide Ohio State to a national championship, Jim Knowles is finalizing a deal with Penn State to become the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football, ESPN reported Sunday.Knowles is set to make $3.1 million per season on a three-year deal to join the staff of Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin.Knowles is getting a raise of $900,000 per season over the deal he had at Ohio State and zoomed past the $2.5 million per-season deals for both Wink Martindale of Michigan and Blake Baker of LSU, who were slated to be the highest paid defensive coordinators in 2025.Ohio State rode the No. 1 defense in the country to four victories in the College Football Playoff, including a 34-23 win over Notre Dame in the title game. The Buckeyes gave up 251.1 yards per game, more than five yards better than the next best team, Indiana.