The Penn State Nittany Lions finally have hired a football coach. And they got a good one despite the agonizing wait.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has been tapped to succeed James Franklin, according to a report from ESPN.
Campbell, 46, previously has been a candidate at other jobs but never left Ames, Iowa, where he coached for 10 seasons and became the winningest coach in school history with a 72-55 record, including 8-4 in 2025.
He will take over a Penn State program that’s been without a permanent coach for nearly two months as other candidates turned down the job or elected to stay at their current jobs, including BYU coach Kalani Sitake.
Franklin, who was fired on Oct. 12, got hired as coach at Virginia Tech, where he proceeded to pull in a recruiting class that ranked No. 23 nationally with 22 signees as of Dec. 5, according to 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings. By contrast, Penn State’s class ranked last in the Big Ten and had only had two signees as of Dec. 5 as it continued to search for a coach.
Hiring Campbell will stop that bleeding with the transfer portal opening on Jan. 2.
Campbell, a former player at Division III Mount Union, previously coached at Toledo, where he compiled a 35-15 record in five seasons from 2011 to 2015.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting Campbell will agree to an eight-year contract pending board approval.
Matt Campbell buyout: How much would he owe to leave?
He was under contract at Iowa State through 2032 after signing an amended contract in July 2025. He would owe Iowa State $2 million to break that contract early to leave for another head coaching job in a Power Four conference, according to the contract obtained by USA TODAY Sports. Penn State presumably would pick up that tab, as is customary in these situations. That buyout would be owed to Iowa State in lump sum within 90 days of terminating his contract there.
Campbell was making $5 million in guaranteed pay in 2025.
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