Skip to main content
Penn State
Join Now

Penn State finalizes deal with Iowa State's Matt Campbell as next head coach

nate-mug-10.12.14by: Nate Bauer6 hours agoNateBauerBWI

Matt Campbell has agreed to become the next head coach of the Penn State football program. The culmination of a courtship that began Wednesday and ended Friday with a deal, the Iowa State leader is will become the 17th head coach in Nittany Lions history, pending approval by the university board of trustees.

Contract details, including compensation and length, have not yet been learned.

With the agreement, Penn State ends a nearly two-month search for a replacement for James Franklin, who was dismissed Oct. 12. Led by athletic director Patrick Kraft, the Nittany Lions engaged dozens of candidates, narrowing in on BYU’s Kalani Sitake – who instead agreed to a contract extension with the Cougars – before ultimately landing on Campbell.

Matt Campbell to become next Penn State coach

Originally from Ohio, Campbell has spent the past 10 seasons at Iowa State, where he has compiled a 72-55 overall record. Inheriting a down Cyclones program from Paul Rhoads in 2016, Campbell rebounded from a 3-9 debut season in Ames with winning seasons in eight of his next nine campaigns, delivering a top-10 finish in 2020 behind a Fiesta Bowl win.

This season, Iowa State opened the year with a ranked win over Kansas State in Dublin, climbing to No. 14 in the polls before a four-game slide in October derailed the Cyclones’ progress. Rebounding with wins against TCU, Kansas and Oklahoma State to close the season, they’re now 8-4 and awaiting a bowl destination.

Penn State finds its coach

At Penn State, Campbell will inherit a program that finished the 2025 season under drastically different circumstances from its start. Ranked No. 2 nationally on the back of a College Football Playoff semifinal run in 2024, the Nittany Lions were upended by losses to Oregon, UCLA, and Indiana in successive weeks.

A slide that prompted the dismissal of Franklin – who was midway through his 12th season at the helm – Kraft named Terry Smith the team’s interim head coach to guide the back half of the campaign. Under Smith’s attempt to steady the Nittany Lions, their trajectory continued with losses to Iowa, No. 1 Ohio State, and No. 2 Indiana as Kraft directed a national search for the program’s next head coach.

Eventually, Penn State regained its footing with wins against Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers to close the season. The three-game winning streak boosted the Nittany Lions to bowl eligibility, and they are also awaiting news Sunday on a destination and opponent.

Talk about it with our premium members in the Lions Den message board, here.