Penn State is hoping Matt Campbell can restore some optimism in Happy Valley.
Almost two months after firing James Franklin, the Nittany Lions are working toward a deal to bring the Iowa State head coach on board, according to multiple reports on Friday.
Things are far from done, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, who notes “there’s multiple steps needed to finalize, including agreeing to terms and formal approval of compensation.”
It likely ends a 54-day search after Franklin was fired on Oct. 12 following an embarrassing loss to Northwestern, Penn State’s third straight at the time, which cemented its fall from preseason favorite.
Penn State ended its season at 6-6, short of a bowl game, including a 3-6 mark in the Big Ten.
Campbell has been Iowa State’s coach since 2016, putting together a 72-55 record with a 3-4 mark in bowl games. Over 15 years as a head coach, including his first five at Toledo, he’s 107-70 overall.
When finalized, the deal with Campbell comes after several high-profile candidates spurned the opportunity to coach the Nittany Lions, with BYU’ Kalani Sitake opting to sign an extension rather to move cross country.
Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko and Louisville’s Jeff Brohm all also chose to stay at their respective schools despite reported interest from Happy Valley.
“I was under the assumption that he was almost untouchable at this point, you know. And I know Penn State can pay whatever that is they need to pay if this ends up happening. But, I kind of thought, you know, maybe five years ago when he built Iowa State up, I thought that maybe somebody is going to come in and swoop him up. But I thought Iowa State has done a pretty good job of making it pretty clear, hey, the buyout is ridiculous, no one can come in here and take him, he’s our guy,” ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Friday as the news broke. “So, if this happens, that would be a major effort by Penn State to make this happen.”
Franklin, meanwhile, signed on for the head job at Virginia Tech with a reported five-year, $41.75 million deal — not including the $9 million buyout settlement, negotiated down from $49 million — from Penn State.
It’s the latest big move in the NCAA football coaching carousel that saw Lane Kiffin bolt national title contender Ole Miss before the College Football Playoff for LSU, replacing Brian Kelly, while Florida snagged Tulane’s Jon Sumrall to replace Billy Napier — who is expected to land at James Madison.
