Penn State shifts focus of football coaching search to Iowa State’s Matt Campbell

Penn State has shifted the focus of its search for a new football coach Thursday to Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, according to multiple reports.

The 46-year-old Campbell has guided the Cyclones to a 72-55 record in 10 seasons, including 50-40 in the Big 12 and 8-4 this season.

The Nittany Lions and director of athletics Pat Kraft have had a prolonged search to replace James Franklin, who Kraft fired on Oct. 12.

They pursued Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko and Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and made BYU’s Kalani Sitake their top target earlier this week before Sitake decided to stay with the Cougars.

Kraft reportedly also has interviewed former New York Giants coach Brian Daboll, Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia this week after Sitake’s decision.

Campbell is the winningest coach in the history of Iowa State, which is still more than 100 games under .500 overall since it began playing football.

The Cyclones secured their highest-ranked recruiting class under Campbell earlier this week, signing 22 high prospects who rank 48th nationally, according to 247 Sports.

Campbell is a native of Massillon, Ohio, and initially attended Pitt on a scholarship before he transferred to NCAA Division III powerhouse Mount Union. He played on the defensive line from 1999-2002 for coach Larry Kehres and helped the Purple Raiders win three national titles.

He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green in 2003, returned to Mount Union in 2005 and helped the Raiders win national titles in both of his seasons on the staff.

Campbell spent the next five seasons at Bowling Green and at Toledo as an offensive line coach. He also was the offensive coordinator the last two seasons (2010-11) at Toledo before the Rockets promoted him to head coach for their 2011 bowl game at the age of 32, making him the youngest head coach in the FBS.

He posted a 35-15 record in four full seasons at Toledo until Iowa State hired him before the 2016 season. He has relied on identifying overlooked talent and developing players who weren’t regarded as blue-chip prospects.

A three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year, the Cyclones went 11-3 last season, including a 45-19 loss to Arizona State in the conference title game and a 42-41 win over Miami (Fla.) in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. They finished 15th in the polls.

In 2020, Iowa State went 9-3 and finished ninth in the national polls.