Matt Campbell admits he had some apprehension in leaving Iowa State for Penn State

New Penn State head coach Matt Campbell admitted he had some apprehension about leaving Iowa State after 10 years. But, he and his family found that this would be the opportunity of a lifetime for the successful head coach.

As he talked about what he wanted to do next with the Nittany Lions, Campbell was fond of what Iowa State and his former players did for him. All the credit was to them, not him.

“The only apprehension that that gives you is because you care so deeply about the young men at Iowa State,” Campbell said at his introductory press conference. “I love our kids. The only reason I’m even sitting here today is because our kids believed in Matt Campbell, and they stayed with Matt Campbell. And so I’d be lying to say there was an apprehension, because I love the young men that played for us and played for me at Iowa State. As things got public, I knew it was almost, Erica, almost like, slapped me in the head and said, ‘What are you doing? Any apprehension? This is meant to be.’ 

“And she was so right. And honestly, President Neeli and Pat, their conversations, you just said, ‘You know what? We’re going to continue down this journey, and we’re going to find out if it’s the right fit for us’ and it is the right fit for us.”

The process wasn’t easy, as Campbell pointed out. He was reportedly an initial target, it didn’t go through and then he became the sole target late in Penn State’s search.

“I would say the most gut-wrenching process I’ve ever had to go through,” Campbell told college football analyst Josh Pate. “We talked about this the last time. I think for me, to ever leave, it had to be right in three ways. By my family was No. 1, No. 2 was the leadership and who you were going to link arms with. Could you link arms with people that were the right people for you?

“And No. 3, most importantly, and we talked about this at Iowa State, where you have a chance to go somewhere where you can stand for what’s right. Because I feel like for 14 years now as a head football coach, we’ve never wavered from those value systems. That was really the tipping point for maybe this was the right job.”

Campbell went 72-55 at Iowa State from 2016-25. Overall, he is 107-70 with stints at Toledo and the Cyclones coming to State College.