Matt Campbell is Penn State’s newest coach. How fans, analysts reacted on social media

By Josh Moyer

Updated December 5, 2025 9:45 PM

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.

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After 54 long days, Penn State football finally has its head coach.

Iowa State coach Matt Campbell is set to become the Nittany Lions’ 17th head coach, the athletic department confirmed Friday night. The news was not unexpected, as Campbell had recently become Penn State’s primary target.

In Happy Valley, relief largely took hold on social media. In Ames, Iowa, it was a different story. Many fans wished him well, while others were understandably heartbroken to see the Cyclones’ winningest coach leave after 10 seasons.

Here’s an overview of how the college football world reacted to Campbell becoming Penn State’s next head coach — from fans and analysts alike:

Penn State is still Penn State, it was always going to attract an excellent coach. While success is never guaranteed, Matt Campbell certainly fits that description. Fans should be excited.

Lot of wishful thinking out there that Penn State had botched this beyond repair.
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) December 5, 2025

Idc how much time it took, I’ve heard nothing but great things about Matt Campbell. https://t.co/g6e7EUW6yc
— Allen Robinson II (@AllenRobinson) December 5, 2025

The Penn State AD getting Matt Campbell after all that pic.twitter.com/ej4F09ytix
— Pregame Empire (@PregameEmpire) December 5, 2025

Unbelievably thankful for what Matt Campbell did for our program. He raised the standard and is one of the only coaches who can genuinely say he left the program better than when he got it. Can’t believe it ended this way but this man deserves a statue in Ames. pic.twitter.com/EgPLa2aD9v
— Commander Purdy (@CyClone501st) December 5, 2025

Matt Campbell is a really good hire. And boy did he bail out Penn State from what was looking like an absolute disaster.
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) December 6, 2025

"Matt Campbell is an unbelievable coach and I'd be very interested to see what he could do at Penn State..

A new challenge might be on the horizon and he could turn this thing around at Penn State" @tyschmit #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/atFhhTP5Ta
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 5, 2025

I'm not going to comment on the process or the long and winding road ... but if you told me 50 days ago that Penn State was going to end up with Matt Campbell, I would have told you that's a huge homerun. Campbell has been asked to consider NFL jobs for a decade and hasn't left.
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) December 5, 2025

James Franklin/Matt Campbell vs Top 25 Opponents:

Franklin: 15-28

Campbell: 16-27

Improvement pic.twitter.com/r7MpYtf4uV
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) December 5, 2025

Matt Campbell is a great and long overdue hire for Penn State. I have no idea if it will work out. pic.twitter.com/IqFMVpPLcV
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) December 6, 2025

What if I told you a single blade of grass got multiple coaches contract extensions and led to Matt Campbell being Penn State’s Head Coach pic.twitter.com/bxARUoI1bw
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 5, 2025

Despite how messy this coaching search turned, Penn State football still gets a fantastic match with Matt Campbell. A sneaky good, not flashy hire who I believe will keep the Nittany Lions in the CFP conversation, if given the time to properly build in Happy Valley. https://t.co/KEeK3Na9Ep
— Tyler Feldman (@TylerFeldman_) December 5, 2025

Mood.

Thank you Matt Campbell for reviving Cyclone football. pic.twitter.com/cR6NsX5IhJ
— Cyclone Dave (@CycloneDave69) December 5, 2025

Hiring Matt Campbell is a testament to how much of a special place Penn State is. We have our issues. @LaVarArrington highlighted some of them this morning and the coaching search was a dysfunctional adventure. But in spite of all of that, we’re still hiring one of the most…
— Hardcore Penn State Football (@HardcorePSUFB) December 5, 2025

Thank you, Matt Campbell.

• Most wins in Program History
• First New Years Six Bowl Win
• Best Single Season in ISU History
• 16 Players to the NFL pic.twitter.com/GpauY8lBlI
— 𝙄𝙤𝙬𝙖 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (@IowaStateNation) December 5, 2025

Summarizing Penn State’s coaching search pic.twitter.com/h01fPrTjfJ
— PS Football U (@psufootballu) December 5, 2025

Horrible process, excellent result. Perhaps beneficial in the short term for the #Hokies, since it could lead to some PSU coaches and players following Franklin to VT. Long term, Campbell will be a factor in the region, because I think he's a pretty good coach. https://t.co/hCDxzMSrMq
— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) December 5, 2025

Fact is, you can’t be mad at Matt Campbell. 10 years poured into Iowa State to leave it better than he found it. He stayed well beyond most expectations if we’re honest. Doesn’t make it easier, but Matt Campbell deserves an opportunity at a Top 10 job as Penn State is.
— Jon Schaeffer (@JSchaeffCreates) December 5, 2025

This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 8:45 PM.

Josh Moyer

Centre Daily Times

Josh Moyer earned his B.A. in journalism from Penn State and his M.S. from Columbia. He’s been involved in sports and news writing for more than 20 years. He counts the best athlete he’s ever seen as Tecmo Super Bowl’s Bo Jackson.

Matt Campbell is Penn State’s newest coach. How fans, analysts reacted on social media

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