Report: Penn St. working to finalize deal with Matt Campbell

Field Level Media|published: Fri 5th December, 13:47 2025

Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell reacts during the fourth quarter against BYU at Jack Trice Stadium on Oct. 25, 2025, in Ames, Iowa.

Penn State's lengthy process to determine its next football coach appears to be nearing an end, with On3.com reporting that the program is working to finalize a deal to hire Iowa State's Matt Campbell.

Campbell reportedly became the Nittany Lions' focus after BYU's Kalani Sitake and Louisville's Jeff Brohm decided to stay with their programs earlier this week. The Nittany Lions also engaged with "at least three other candidates" in recent days, according to ESPN.

Power 4 programs including Auburn, Florida, LSU and UCLA have created and filled coaching vacancies in the 54 days since Penn State fired James Franklin. Terry Smith has been serving as the interim head coach and had been considered a candidate for the full-time position.

Campbell, 46, has been frequently tied to vacancies at major programs. He has a 72-55 record at Iowa State and is 107-70 overall as a head coach. His head coaching career began in 2012 at Toledo, where he spent four seasons before coming to Ames, Iowa.

The Cyclones are 8-4 this season after reeling off three consecutive victories and played in bowl games in eight of the past nine seasons.

Campbell led Iowa State to an 11-3 record last season, with the Cyclones missing out on a College Football Playoff spot after losing to Arizona State in the Big 12 Championship game.

Franklin was fired after a 3-3 start, and the Nittany Lions finished the regular season 6-6.

The drawn-out process to hire Franklin's replacement has hit the Nittany Lions hard in recruiting. Penn State signed only two recruits during the early signing period after losing several previous commits to other programs.

However, it's possible Campbell could bring some of his Iowa State commitments with him if hired, and the Nittany Lions are expected to be aggressive in adding talent via the transfer portal.

Campbell is a Massillon, Ohio, native and former college defensive lineman who spent a season at Pittsburgh before moving on to Mount Union from 1999-2002. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green in 2003, then returned to Mount Union as an offensive coordinator from 2005-06.

Campbell spent the next two years on Bowling Green's staff before taking over at Toledo.

--Field Level Media