Nick Saban critical of Penn State for high standards after James Franklin firing: 'Why is that their standard of excellence?'

According to the latest reporting out of Happy Valley, Matt Campbell could soon become the next head coach at Penn State. With that hire, Nick Saban thinks that could be a great one, and could be more so if the expectations are better set, in his opinion, by the Nittany Lions.

Appearing on ‘The Pat McAfee Show‘ from Atlanta on Friday, Saban reacted to the reported news of Campbell potentially leaving Iowa State for Penn State. As for the actual hire, Saban thinks it’s a good one considering how much he has achieved at a program that’s not known to be as notable up in Ames.

“Matt Campbell did a great job at Iowa State because he won more there than most, so that tells you what the potential of the place is and what he was able to accomplish,” Saban said. “I’m sure he’ll be able to do the same thing at Penn State. I think they’re getting a great coach, who’s proven on a consistent basis. You know, he didn’t just win one time. He’s won consistently at a place that’s not a place that people would recognize as some place you should win all the time, which I think speaks volumes of the job he does.”

Campbell is the winningest coach in program history at Iowa State, with a record of 72-55 (.567) over a decade with the Cyclones. That includes seven bowl berths, which is also the most in program history, with five finishes with eight-plus wins, as well as two appearances since just 2020 in the Big 12 Championship. Campbell, currently the third-longest-tenured coach in the conference, is also a three-time honoree as Big 12 Coach of the Year. That’s a resumé that could more than justify being hired in University Park.

However, as a whole, Saban was very critical of what this whole process has ended up being since Penn State’s firing of James Franklin back in mid-October. He criticized the decision at the time, and did so again this afternoon as he thinks the expectations, with just one playoff appearance ever, and no national titles won in almost four decades, with two of their four championships being from over a century ago, might have become too unrealistic recently around the program in State College.

“Well, I think that, you know, creating that expectation is actually, you know, not favorable to being able to do it, because every time you have a misstep, everybody gets negative on where the program is and what the program can accomplish,” Saban said. “And I think the most important thing is to have your administration, your fanbase, and everybody stay positive in what you’re trying to accomplish and what your goal is. So, these places that have, to me, a little bit of unrealistic expectations, that we’re going to win the national championship? Only one team wins the national championship, and there’s a lot of competition out there. There’s only 12 teams that get in the playoffs — and really only 10 of them because two of them may not even be ranked high enough to deserve to get in — but, in the system, they get in. So, anyway, the Top 10 teams get in the playoff, and then you’ve got to win in the playoff against really good teams, and you’ve got to stay healthy, and you’ve got to have a quarterback, and you can’t lose the wrong guys at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“I mean, there’s all kinds of factors that go into whether you can finish the season the way you want. So, to make that, sort of, the goal, which is an outcome, we got to win the championship or we’re going to get rid of the coach, to me, is totally wrong, and they’ll have a hard time doing it if that is the approach that they take.”

Saban wasn’t done there.

“How many times has Penn State won the national championship since we had the playoff, and since we had the BCS? I mean, refresh my memory on that,” Saban then asked. “So, why is that their standard of excellence?”

Nothing is official yet for Campbell as far as being the next head coach at Penn State. However, if that’s where he’s on the sidelines next season, Saban hopes he, or anyone who’ll be coaching there next, has reasonable-enough expectations around them from the Nittany Lions.