Penn State Closes In On ISU’s Matt Campbell

Penn State’s monthslong coaching search is finally over. 

A little more than 50 days after firing James Franklin, the school is working toward a deal with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell as of Friday, according to multiple reports. The two sides need to agree on terms and compensation to finalize a contract, which will require approval from the school’s board of trustees before Campbell can officially become the coach. 

The news came a day after a source with knowledge of Penn State’s coaching search said that the school’s boosters wanted it to end after a disastrous national signing day. 

“There’s definitely a sense of urgency to wrap this up,” a source with knowledge of the coaching search told Front Office Sports on Thursday. 

Campbell, 46, would come to State College after 10 seasons at Iowa State, where he went 72–55. Before ISU, he coached at Toledo from 2011–2015, where he went 35–15 over five seasons. 

Campbell’s impending hire comes after the school fired Franklin on Oct. 12 after 11 and a half seasons despite a 104–45 record and an appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals last season. But Franklin went just 4–21 against top-10 teams. The school fired Franklin after three consecutive losses, and was willing to pay a buyout of roughly $50 million, which shrank to $9 million after the two sides negotiated it down. Franklin was named coach at Virginia Tech on Nov.17. 

Throughout Penn State’s search, multiple coaching candidates netted contract extensions including Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, a former PSU player, along with Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri), Clark Lea (Vanderbilt), Mike Elko (Texas A&M), and Curt Cignetti (Indiana). Penn State’s interim head coach Terry Smith, who also played at PSU, went 3–3 after taking over for Franklin, but didn’t get the full-time job. 

PSU Athletic Director Patrick Kraft’s search was also impacted by CAA superagent Jimmy Sexton, who represents Franklin and some of college football’s other biggest names such as Lane Kiffin, who left Mississippi for LSU on Sunday. 

While PSU cycled through candidates, Franklin and other coaches raided the Nittany Lions top-20 recruiting class, resulting in just two players signing letters of intent on Wednesday, which raised alarm bells among the school’s boosters. 

Penn State finally has its coach. Now Campbell will be tasked with rebuilding the roster and recruiting class before he can try and beat the teams Franklin never could.