4 things every Penn State fan should know about new head coach Matt Campbell
READ MORE
New era of Penn State football
Penn State football has its next coach. Read more about Matt Campbell and what he’ll bring to the Nittany Lions.
Expand All
Penn State finally found its coach.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has been named the Nittany Lions’ 17th head coach, the athletic department announced Friday night, ending a prolonged search that was on its 54th day. Campbell comes to Happy Valley at a difficult time, facing a historically small recruiting class and numerous potential player transfers to Virginia Tech and elsewhere.
Campbell arrives after going 8-4 at Iowa State this season and wrapping up his highest-ranked recruiting class with the Cyclones since he arrived in 2016. Iowa State’s class came in at No. 50 nationally, according to 247Sports.
Here are four things that Penn State fans should know about Campbell:
ESPN ranked him as the sport’s 10th-best coach
Earlier this year, in May, a group of 12 ESPN college football reporters voted on the 10 best coaches in college football — and Campbell came in ranked at No. 10. (James Franklin was No. 8.)
Longtime reporter David Hale was the most bullish on Campbell by voting him as the nation’s fourth-best coach.
“There are plenty of coaches who get bonus points for doing more with less, but how many have done so much with so little so consistently as Campbell?” Hale wrote. “From 1979 through Campbell’s hire in 2016, Iowa State won three bowls, had 11 players taken in the first four rounds of the NFL draft and had one nine-win season. In his nine years on the job, he has won three bowls, had 12 players drafted in the first four rounds and had two nine-win seasons, including an 11-3 mark last year.”
He had unprecedented success at Iowa State
Campbell has taken some criticism for his track record in big games and his so-so record in one-score games and conference matchups. But it’s worth giving those critiques with the Cyclones some context.
Campbell does have a sub-.500 record against AP top-10 teams at 4-6, for example. But how did Iowa State do in those games before Campbell? Try 8-98-2. Plus, 4-6 is still significantly better than James Franklin’s 4-21 record against AP top 10 teams when he was with Penn State.
The former Iowa State coach is 72-55 overall there and 50-40 in conference play. On the surface, that’s not overly impressive. But, just as ESPN’s David Hale explained in the above point, the Cyclones weren’t exactly used to winning when Campbell arrived.
Campbell inherited a team that didn’t win more than three games in each of its previous three seasons. And, by Year 2, he had the Cyclones in a bowl. By the program’s own admission, this has been the “most successful stretch in the program’s 134-year history.”
He’s the winningest coach in school history, owns the best overall winning percentage in school history and also boasts the best conference winning percentage in school history. He’s a three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year (2017, 2018, 2020) and twice made the conference championship.
He reportedly turned down major offers, interest before
Campbell has long been an enigma in the coaching world. He reportedly has not had an agent in the past, and he has refused to talk to some major programs until the end of the season.
He turned down an interview for the New York Jets’ head coach position in 2019, before Adam Gase took it. He was possibly No. 1 on Washington’s coaching board but “didn’t reciprocate the interest,” according to 247Sports. TCU was interested, but Campbell didn’t want to interview until after the season.
The list goes on. But maybe the biggest example? According to NFL QB Brock Purdy, who played under Campbell, the Iowa State coach had an offer from USC but opted to instead stay for the 2022 season. Other reports say Campbell was actually the No. 2 choice behind Lincoln Riley, who did get the job.
Either way, it’s clear Campbell has long been a hot commodity. His stock did take a hit briefly in 2022 after a 4-8 record, thanks to six losses coming by one score. CBS Sports wrote in September 2024 that Campbell was once “the hottest coaching candidate name in college football.” One source told the outlet if he would win nine games, he’d be back on everybody’s radar.
Campbell went 11-3 in 2024 and 8-4 in 2025.
Here’s his answer when asked four years ago why he had stayed:
“Really, from Day 1 that I’ve been here, my sole No. 1 focus has been our players, our coaches, our fan base and, really, the future of our football program,” he told ESPN’s SportsCenter. “And I really have always believed that you’re one of two people — you’re either the person that’s trying to be somebody else or you’re the person that’s trying to do something.
“For me, I got into coaching because I love to coach. I love to be involved and see a young 18-year-old come into our program and leave as a 22-year-old man ready to become the best version of himself he can be.”
It’s been said before that Campbell would be very selective about where he’d leave Ames, Iowa, for. The Ohio native reportedly viewed Ohio State and Notre Dame as destination jobs, but those might not be open anytime soon. Plus, there’s another possible reason for leaving this season: Iowa State’s athletic department is forecasting “budget gaps” in the coming years.
He’s friends with a nearby NFL head coach
Campbell doesn’t appear to have a lot of Pennsylvania ties, but he does have one interesting connection. He played college football for Division III Mount Union (Ohio), where he was roommates and teammates with Nick Sirianni, the Philadelphia Eagles head coach.
The two remain close, and a recent Cyclones podcast said the relationship has provided a “unique and invaluable advantage” to Iowa State. Campbell and his staff have the ability to attend the Eagles’ OTAs, for example.
Campbell graduated one year before Sirianni, and they won three national titles together. Sirianni played wide receiver at Mount Union through the 2003 season, while Campbell was on the defensive line through the 2002 season.
The two also coached together at Mount Union in 2005. Sirianni then went to the NFL in 2009, where he’s been ever since, while Campbell opted to remain in the NCAA. It’s been referred to as a “long-standing friendship.”
“Obviously, I always follow Iowa State and their program because I have so many college teammates and roommates that coach there,” Sirianni said during a 2023 press conference, when asked about Purdy. “Since Matt [Campbell] became the head coach at Iowa State, I’ve always followed them, and obviously stay in touch with Matt.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 11:11 AM.
