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

Knowles, a former all-Ivy defensive lineman and assistant coach at Cornell, left with a 26-34 record in six seasons as head coach at Cornell. Despite a 2-8 record in 2009, Knowles recently received a vote of confidence from Athletics Director Andy Noel. He left for financial reasons with two seasons left on his contract. The search for Knowles' replacement will begin immediately, the Journal reported.