The nearly two-month saga involving the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) football head coach opening has finally come to an end. On Friday, the school announced that it had reached an agreement with former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell to become the next man in charge of the Nittany Lions football team.
“Coach Campbell is, without a doubt, the right leader at the right time for Penn State Football,” Kraft stated. “He is a stellar coach with a proven track record of success and his values, character and approach to leading student-athletes to success on and off the field align perfectly with the traditions and values of Penn State.
“As we start this exciting next chapter for our football program with Coach Campbell at the helm, the future is bright. We will continue to build upon and elevate the high standard that is the hallmark of our program.”
The Penn State opening was created when the school fired James Franklin on Oct. 12. That came one day after the Nittany Lions lost to Northwestern, which was their third straight defeat. That loss also ended a 20-game home win streak for Penn State versus unranked teams, and PSU had fallen out of the AP Poll just seven days before Franklin’s termination.
Campbell just completed his 15th season as a head coach, with the last 10 coming with the Iowa State Cyclones. He has the most wins (72) in program history and is a three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year. Iowa finished the 2025 regular season with an 8–4 record, as it is headed to its eighth bowl game over the last nine seasons.
In 2024, Campbell led the Cyclones to an 11–3 record, a win in the Pop-Tarts Bowl over the Miami Hurricanes, and a final AP Poll ranking of No. 15. Those 11 victories are more than any other Iowa State season, and this is a program that’s been around since 1895.
Prior to joining Iowa State in 2016, Campbell spent five years as the head coach at Toledo, where he went 35–15. He had the Rockets ranked in the AP Poll in two of his four seasons with the program. For comparison, other Toledo coaches over their last 20 years leading the team had just one season where they were ranked in the AP Poll.
Before getting his first head coaching job in 2012, Campbell spent nine years as an assistant, all coming at schools located in his native Ohio. He also played in the state, at Mount Union, but he has at least one year of prior residence in the state of Pennsylvania. Though Campbell doesn’t have ties to Penn State, he did begin his college career at Pittsburgh, before transferring to Mount Union.
Penn State was the last of the Power Conference head coach openings after it was spurned by several other coaches. The school was rumored to have interest in the likes of Mike Elko of Texas A&M, Kalani Sitake of BYU, Curt Cignetti of Indiana, and Matt Rhule of Nebraska, only for all of them to, instead, get extensions and raises at their current schools.
Nonetheless, the Nittany Lions finally got their guy, and despite the angst of many fans towards Franklin, Campbell has big shoes to fill. Only the legendary Joe Paterno (409) had more wins in Penn State history than Franklin (104). In the 2024 season, Franklin led PSU to a 13–3 record, a pair of victories in the College Football Playoff, and a final AP Poll ranking of No. 5.
On Nov. 17, Franklin accepted the head coaching job at Virginia Tech. So, despite Virginia Tech being in the ACC and Penn State being in the Big Ten, PSU’s former coach and current coach will often be recruiting the same areas up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
Campbell is just the fifth head coach for Penn State since 1950, not counting interim coaches. Speaking of interims, Terry Smith has manned the job ever since Franklin was fired. After losing his first three games, the team has since won three straight and is bowl eligible.
Both Penn State and Iowa State will find out what bowl games they’ll play in on Sunday. Smith is expected to coach Penn State in its bowl game, while it’s unknown if Campbell will coach the Cyclones in their bowl matchup.
