Introduction
Jim Knowles (born April 16, 1965) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the defensive coordinator at Duke University. From 2004 to 2009, he compiled a 26–34 record as head football coach at Cornell University.
A 1987 graduate of Cornell, Knowles was a defensive end on the Big Red football team. He was elected to Cornell's Sphinx Head Society during his senior year, ultimately graduating with a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations in 1987. Prior to receiving the head coach position, Knowles served as an assistant at Cornell, Western Michigan University and the University of Mississippi.
On December 28, 2009, Knowles was named the defensive coordinator at Duke under head coach David Cutcliffe. Knowles had previously served as linebackers coach under Cutcliffe while he was head coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 2003.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell Big Red (Ivy League) (2004–2009) | |||||||||
| 2004 | Cornell | 4–6 | 4–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 2005 | Cornell | 6–4 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 2006 | Cornell | 5–5 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2007 | Cornell | 5–5 | 2–5 | 7th | |||||
| 2008 | Cornell | 4–6 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 2009 | Cornell | 2–8 | 1–6 | 8th | |||||
| Cornell: | 26–34 | 16–26 | |||||||
| Total: | 26–34 | ||||||||