Kent Austin will be Cornell’s 26th football coach, the Athletics Department confirmed yesterday, replacing Jim Knowles ’87 as the Roger J. Weiss ’61 Head Coach of Football.

Austin was offensive coordinator at the University of Mississippi for the past two seasons, the same school at which Knowles was defensive coordinator before coming to Cornell.

Kent Austin will be Cornell's 26th football coach, the Athletics Department confirmed today, replacing Jim Knowles '87 as the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Football.

Jim Knowles ’87 resigned his position as the Roger J. Weiss ’61 Head Coach of Cornell Football on Dec. 23, 2009, opting to re-join former superior David Cutcliffe as defensive coordinator at Duke. Athletics Director Andy Noel said that a national search to fill the position would begin immediately, and players said interviews began earlier this month.

Havoc in Hanover

In the wake of Jim Knowles '87's resignation from the football head coach position, director of athletic communications Jeremy Hartigan told the Ithaca Journal that the search for Knowles' replacement will begin immediately.

Football head coach Jim Knowles '87 resigned on Wednesday to become the defensive coordinator at Duke, the Ithaca Journal reported.