Butler University Athletics

Jeff Knowles joined the Butler football coaching staff in January of 2022, working as as the defensive coordinator and linebacker coach. Knowles was promoted to assistant head coach before the start of the 2023 campaign. Prior to Butler, Knowles worked on coaching staffs at Temple, Northern Illinois and North Carolina State.
 
In his first season at Butler, Knowles called the defense for Butler’s 31-0 shutout victory over Dayton. The result snapped Dayton’s longest scoring streak in Division I football (501 games). It doubled as the first shutout of Knowles’ collegiate coaching career.
 
Knowles joined Rod Carey's coaching staff at Temple in 2019 working as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach through the 2021 campaign. Before joining the Owl's, Knowles spent two seasons on the defensive staff at Northern Illinois University where he was hired as the linebacker coach in 2017 and added the defensive coordinator title in 2018.
 
In 2018, the NIU defense ranked second in the country with a school-record 50 sacks. They were also ranked third in the country with 2.7 rushing yards per carry and had the MAC's best scoring defense with 20.6 points per game allowed. Knowles also helped back-to-back All-American defensive end Sutton Smith lead the FBS in sacks with 15 and was second in the country with 24.5 TFLs. Smith and LB Antonio Jones-Davis also received All-MAC honors for their work on Knowles’ defense.
 
In Knowles' first year on the defensive staff in 2017, the Huskies enjoyed one of the top defensive seasons in recent history as NIU led the Mid-American Conference in total defense and scoring defense and broke the school record for most punts forced by its opponents. NIU led the Football Bowl Subdivision in tackles for loss and ranked second nationally in quarterback sacks.
 
Previously, Knowles was in charge of defensive quality control at N.C. State for three seasons. He also spent six seasons at his alma mater, the University of Saint Francis. He coached the defensive line and linebackers, served as recruiting coordinator, and defensive coordinator from 2012-2013.
 
A native of Manhattan, Illinois, Knowles played collegiately at Saint Francis from 1996-2000, serving as team captain his final two seasons.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Saint Francis and completed his master’s degree in education from the university in 2010.
 
As a prep player, he was a first team all-state linebacker on the Providence Catholic High team that won the state championship with an undefeated season in 1994.
 
Knowles and his wife, Sarah, have two sons, Gannon and Emmett.
 
Knowles and Mike Uremovich have been friends since the fifth grade. They were the only FBS coaches in 2019 (Temple) to call plays for a team's offense and defense who were also high school teammates.