Last offseason, Ohio State made key transfer portal acquisitions, paid big to retain its best players and spent millions on a splashy coordinator hire.

This offseason, it’s Penn State’s turn.

In the latest offseason move, Penn State hired away Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to make him the highest-paid coordinator in college football history — a guaranteed three-year contract worth more than $9 million that resets the market for college assistants. Knowles’ hire follows the retention of top talent as the school uses revenue-sharing funds to lure its best players away from the NFL, including quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, defensive tackle Zane Durant and safety Zakee Wheatley.

But there’s more acquisition news in Happy Valley: Anthony Poindexter, the program’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, is expected to remain on staff by signing a new multi-year contract with an increased salary — a deal that’s resulted in him turning down interest from power conference schools in their coordinator openings, sources tell Yahoo Sports.

In fact, behind Knowles’ move from Columbus to State College — one of the most stunning coordinator swings in recent industry history — is Poindexter, the 48-year-old former Virginia defensive back who won a Super Bowl as a player with the Baltimore Ravens and has helped steer one of the nation’s best defensive units since joining James Franklin’s staff in 2021.

Poindexter was in line for a promotion to the full-time coordinator position to replace Tom Allen, who left for Clemson earlier this month. However, Knowles’ interest in the position altered the course of the hire, those with knowledge of the search told Yahoo Sports.

Franklin and Poindexter held a conversation earlier this past week when it became apparent that Penn State had an opportunity to hire Knowles. “We could really get Jim?” he told Franklin.

Poindexter even discussed the job with Knowles over the past few days, committing to remaining on staff if Knowles were hired to run the defense.

Ohio State’s offer to Knowles would have made him the highest-paid coordinator in football — at least $2.6 million a year in salary. Penn State went above it, offering a historic figure for any assistant coach of more than $3 million a year in a move that aligns with the program’s messaging earlier this fall related to its resources in the impending revenue-sharing world of college sports.

During an interview in November, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft acknowledged that, in this murky NIL era, Ohio State and others had a “leg up.” But, he said, in the impending era of direct compensation, Penn State will go “toe to toe with them.”

“I think it’s our time,” Kraft told Yahoo Sports then.

Less than three months later, the Nittany Lions are on pace for an offseason reminiscent of the one the Buckeyes had last year, when head coach Ryan Day kept around his plethora of talent, plucked stars like Caleb Downs and Quinshon Judkins from SEC programs and hired then-UCLA head coach Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator.

The result was an Ohio State national championship in one of the most incredible postseason runs in college football history.