Penn State hires Iowa State's Matt Campbell as next head coach

Penn State is expected to hire Iowa State’s Matt Campbell as its next head coach, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. On3 first reported Campbell as the target of the Nittany Lions’ search earlier Friday. Later on Friday evening, Penn State officially announced the hire of its new head coach.

The Nittany Lions had been searching for its next headman for longer than many expected, however, Penn State has found their guy. Campbell will take over for Terry Smith, who was seen as a candidate for the position and held the interim head coach title for Penn State after James Franklin was fired.

Franklin was let go by Penn State after a 3-3 start to the year, one season after leading the Nittany Lions to a national semifinal in the College Football Playoff. He’s since taken the job at Virginia Tech.

For Campbell, he’s 107–70 overall as a head coach. He received his first gig as headman at Toledo from 2012-2015 where he was a the 2015 MAC Coach of the Year. Campbell led the Rockets to consecutive divisional titles in 2014 and 2015 before moving on to Iowa State.

Since taking over at Iowa State, he’s been the model of consistency — something the Cyclones program hasn’t had throughout its history. After ending his first season with a 3-9 record in 2016, Campbell would go on to lead Iowa State to five consecutive bowl game appearances. That’s good for the longest streak in program history.

In 2024, Iowa State had its best season yet under Campbell. Leading the Cyclones to an 11-3 record, they came up just short of the College Football Playoff after losing to Arizona State in the Big 12 Championship game. They were ranked as high as No. 9 in the AP Poll last season.

This season didn’t pan out as expected, finishing the year with an 8-4 record including a 5-4 mark against the Big 12. However, the Cyclones ended the regular season having won each of its last three games.

Campbell got his start in the coaching industry in 2003 as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green. He spent two years with the Falcons before becoming the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Mount Union between 2005 and 2006 before returning to Bowling Green in 2007 and 2008 in various capacities.

He was hired by Toledo in 2009 as the team’s run game coordinator and offensive line coach before working his way up to becoming head coach in 2012. Now, he’s set to become the next head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions.