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What are Kirk Herbstreit and others saying about Penn State possibly landing Matt Campbell? 'Fans should be excited'

Greg Pickelby: Greg Pickel12/05/25GregPickel

Penn State is “working to finalize” a deal with Iowa State’s Matt Campbell to make him the 17th head football coach in school history, On3’s Pete Nakos reports. If the sides reach an agreement, it must be approved by the school’s Board of Trustees’ Committee on Equity and Human Resources before it becomes official. However, the unofficial nature of things is not stopping reactions from flowing in about the now-expected outcome of athletic director Pat Kraft’s 50-plus-day search to replace James Franklin.

“It’s a good hire. Nothing against Iowa State, but I would love to see Matt Campbell in State College,” ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said on The Pat McAfee Show Friday. “If they closed the deal on that, that would be as good of a hire – in this very volatile coaching carousel – that would be as good of a hire that I think has been made.”

Added McAfee: “I think it’s a great hire for Penn State in this stage of the game.”

Reports from across the country agree. Campbell is finishing his 10th season with the Cyclones. He holds a 50-40 record. A three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year, the 46-year-old Massillon, Ohio native took over Toledo for his first top job in college football before moving on to Iowa State.

“Penn State, for all its follies in the search process, ended up landing a coach that a large number of ADs would want to pursue if they had an opening,” Dan Wolken of Yahoo Sports writes on Twitter. “[Campbell’s] had many opportunities. The way I’d describe it is, Campbell is very Midwest-coded as a personality and was comfortable at Iowa St until one of these really good Big Ten jobs came his way.”

More reaction to Penn State “working to finalize” a deal with Matt Campbell

Writes ESPN college football reporter and columnist Dan Wetzel on Twitter:

“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.”

A round-up of tweets reacting to the news is below:

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