With the North Carolina Tar Heels electing to fire long-time head coach Mack Brown, many in the world of college sports have begun to wonder what’s next in Chapel Hill.
In a recent list from On3’s Andy Staples, one Big 12 coach was listed as a possible replacement, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.
“Matt Campbell has been at Iowa State so long — since 2016 — that he probably missed his window as the Hot Young Head Coach during the Brock Purdy era,” Staples said. “But Campbell has been a consistent winner at a place where it’s traditionally very difficult to win. Sound familiar? Campbell, whose roots are in Ohio, wants no part of the SEC. He may not want any part of the new Big Ten, but even if he does, the big jobs don’t appear to be opening anytime soon. He might fit right into the ACC, though.”
His inclusion on a list outlining coaching candidates is nothing new for the Cyclones head coach. Campbell’s name seems to pops up multiple times per coaching cycle. Despite openings in recent years like Washington, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi State, Indiana, UCLA, Nebraska, and Texas A&M, including NFL jobs like the New York Jets, who were once rumored to be interested, Campbell has remained very committed to Iowa State.
Campbell is 62-50 in his career at Iowa State, while going 44-36 in Big 12 Conference play since taking over in 2016. He’s been Big 12 Coach of the Year three times as well in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
Now, in 2024, Campbell has a golden opportunity to cross the ten-win threshold for the first time in program history and reach the Big 12 Championship Game. That reality still comes with a tough task ahead as the group faces Chris Klieman and the Kansas State Wildcats, who head to Ames with title aspirations of their own.
That game kicks off on Saturday, November 30th, at 6:30 p.m. CT at Jack Trice Stadium.
