Updated 10:11 p.m. Dec. 5.
The Nittany Lions finally have their guy.
After a nearly two-month search, Penn State has reached an agreement with Matt Campbell to be the football program’s next head coach, pending approval on Monday by the Board of Trustees, Athletic Director Pat Kraft confirmed in a statement Friday night after multiple reports indicated a deal had been finalized.
Campbell has spent the previous 10 seasons as the head coach at Iowa State, where he led the Cyclones to historic success.
“Coach Campbell is, without a doubt, the right leader at the right time for Penn State Football,” Kraft said. “He is a stellar coach with a proven track record of success and his values, character and approach to leading student-athletes to success on and off the field align perfectly with the traditions and values of Penn State.”
While terms of the deal won’t be released until board approval, it reportedly will be for eight years. National college football writer and Penn State alum Matt Fortuna reported that Campbell is expected to earn an average of more than $10 million per year, double his salary at Iowa State, and that the university has committed $30 million in NIL money and a $17 million staff pool.
Iowa State closed its 2025 regular season at 8-4, the fifth season with eight or more wins under Campbell. Prior to his arrival, the program had only had eight such seasons.
He’s coming off an 11-3 season in 2024, the most victories in Cyclone history, including a Big 12 championship game appearance and Pop-Tarts Bowl win over Miami. He also led the team to a 9-3 finish in 2020, including a win over Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.
While his 72-55 overall record at Iowa State isn’t overly impressive, he’s done so at a perennial bottom-feeder in college football, earning Big 12 Coach of the Year recognition in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
Prior to coaching the Cyclones, Campbell coached at Toledo for eight years, including five as head coach. He mounted a 35-15 record that included back-to-back conference championship game appearances and was named the MAC Coach of the Year in 2015.
He has an 18-31 record against ranked teams, including 3-6 with the Rockets and 15-25 with the Cyclones, plus a 4-9 overall record against top-10 opponents.
His midwest ties are strengthened by four seasons coaching at Bowling Green, first as a graduate assistant and then as an offensive line coach, plus a playing career as a defensive lineman at Pitt (1998) and Mount Union (1999-2002).
He’ll take over a Penn State squad coming off a 6-6 regular season in 2025 and losing most of its starters to the NFL draft or graduation. Additionally, the Nittany Lions signed just two players on Early National Signing Day, four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone and four-star edge rusher Jackson Ford.
Campbell will also be tasked with backfilling the support staff after a large contingent of staffers followed former head coach James Franklin to Virginia Tech.
The hiring closes a lengthy search process in which dozens of names were rumored, including several candidates who were described as leading targets at different points. Penn State was reportedly close to finalizing a deal with BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, who ultimately opted to stay with the Cougars with a hefty pay raise.
Current, former and future players also voiced their support for interim head coach Terry Smith throughout the process, including during media interviews and on social media. Kraft also confirmed on Friday that Smith will remain on staff in an unspecified role.
