One day after the discussions between Matt Campbell and Penn State got more serious, Campbell will finally leave Ames and take over as the head coach of the Nittany Lions. It’s reportedly set to be an eight-year deal, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, and will make Campbell one of the Top 10 highest paid coaches in college sport.
Penn State has been searching for a new head coach since it surprisingly fired James Franklin on October 12th. Penn State shifted its attention after BYU coach Kalani Sitake chose to remain with the Cougars earlier this week and agreed to a long-term extension.
Campbell is reported to have access to $30 million in NIL money, along with a $17 million pool for staff, including assistant coaches and support staff.
Matt Campbell has been the target of many college and NFL jobs over the years, but up to this point, had elected to stay loyal to Iowa State. This season, the Cyclones went 8-4, which included a mid-season swoon that saw the Cyclones lose four in a row. But they finished the season with three-straight wins to reach the eight-win mark for the fifth time in Campbell’s tenure.
Matt Campbell’s career at Iowa State transformed the Cyclones from a perennial Big 12 afterthought into a consistent, tough, nationally respected program. Taking over in 2016, Campbell led ISU to five consecutive winning conference records from 2017–2021 and delivered the school’s first-ever New Year’s Six bowl win in the 2020 Fiesta Bowl. He developed a physical, disciplined identity, produced NFL talent like Brock Purdy and Breece Hall, and engineered multiple top-10 upsets. Iowa State has been bowl eligible in four of their five seasons since the 2020 Fiesta Bowl, including last year’s program-best 11-win season, which included a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game. Campbell was 72-55 during his tenure at Iowa State and is the three-time Big 12 Football Coach of the Year.
Campbell will take over a Penn State program that was the No. 2 team in the preseason AP Top 25 in 2025 and started 3-0 before an overtime loss to Oregon was the beginning of the end for James Franklin. Penn State then lost to UCLA on the road and then at home to Northwestern. That loss to the Wildcats was the final game for Franklin, as Penn State now begins the Matt Campbell era.
