The news out of Happy Valley regarding Penn State’s roster has been pretty light since Matt Campbell took over, and that could point to him largely holding it together as he heads into Year 1. However, Campbell has nearly overhauled the program’s coaching staff already, bringing both his coordinators in from Iowa State along with secondary coach Deon Broomfield, and others.
Those additions have, as everything does, had an equal and opposite reaction. Andy Kotelnicki will call his final game for the Penn State offense in the Pinstripe Bowl, and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has already found a new gig and left after less than a year in State College. Knowles is the new DC at Tennessee, replacing former Penn State co-DC Tim Banks on Josh Heupel’s staff, and he could be bringing a longtime Penn State assistant with him.
Chris Low on Jim Knowles’ staff
— Joey Petersen (@joeypetersen8) December 15, 2025
Jim was told he’ll have a couple of hires. So I think you’re going to see some more changes on that defensive staff. I mean, Anthony Poindexter is a guy who coached in the back end at Penn State, safeties. He was a great football player at…
Jim Knowles expected to hire Penn State safeties coach Anthony Poindexter to his defensive staff at Tennessee
According to Chris Low of On3, Knowles is being afforded a couple of assistant hires on the Tennessee staff now that he’s taking over the defense in Knoxville, and Penn State safeties coach Anthony Poindexter will likely be one of them.
Poindexter has been at Penn State since 2021 as a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. He served as the program’s defensive coordinator for the 2023 Peach Bowl after Manny Diaz left to become the head coach at Duke. He remained on the staff under Tom Allen in 2024 and Knowles in 2025.
Poindexter has experience as a defensive coordinator outside of that one-game stint for the Nittany Lions. He was the DC at UConn from 2014-16 and was a candidate for the job following Diaz’s departure. Instead, James Franklin opted for Allen, who left for Clemson after one year.
Even if Poindexter doesn’t follow Knowles to Tennessee, he’ll be looking for an off-ramp out of Happy Valley with Broomfield’s arrival. Broomfield has been with Campbell since 2021, and in 2025, developed sophomore safety Marcus Neal Jr. into a breakout star for the Cyclones.
Poindexter is credited with developing Kevin Winston Jr., Jaylen Reed, Ji’Ayir Brown, and Jaquan Brisker across his time in Happy Valley. He would be a significant loss, but there isn’t much room for him on the staff to coexist with Broomfield and incoming defensive coordinator Jon Heacock.