Penn State Hiring Iowa State's Matt Campbell As Next Head Football Coach

By Andy Anders on December 5, 2025 at 2:16 pm
Matt Campbell
Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The saga is finally over for Penn State.

Fifty-four days after firing James Franklin, after being linked to countless candidates, the Nittany Lions struck a deal with Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell to be the next head coach for their football program.

Campbell spent the last decade as head coach of the Cyclones, going 3-9 his first season, but posting exclusively winning records his final nine in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State made two Big 12 Championship games under Campbell's guidance in 2020 and 2024, losing both times. He posted his lone 10-win season last year, going 11-3 with a win in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Iowa State finished the 2025 regular season at 8-4.

All told, Campbell posted a 72-55 record during his Iowa State tenure. His biggest postseason win came in the 2021 Fiesta Bowl over Oregon. Prior to the Cyclones, he spent five seasons as head coach of Toledo, going 35-15 to put his career coaching record at 107-70. 

Penn State pursued a long line of coaches who ultimately took other jobs or signed extensions at their current schools before landing Campbell. Indiana's Curt Cignetti, Nebraska's Matt Rhule, BYU's Kalani Sitake, Louisville's Jeff Brohm and James Madison-turned-UCLA coach Bob Chesney, to name a few.

The Nittany Lions, which have won at least 10 games each year from 2022 through 2024 and made the College Football Playoff semifinals last season, finished the 2025 regular season 6-6, playing under interim head coach Terry Smith the last six games. Their aim is to go from a consistent top-10 to 15 team to a national title contender. Time will tell if Campbell can get them there.

Iowa State promptly moved to replace Campbell by hiring Jimmy Rogers away from Washington State.


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