(State College, PA) — According to a report on Sports Illustrated, Penn St. has hired Matt Campbell as its new football Head Coach. The report indicates that Penn St. and Campbell have agreed “to broad terms.” The hiring ends a long process for the Big Ten school that started with the firing of James Franklin on October 12. Reportedly several candidates had turned down the Nittany Lions, the latest was Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer who denied any interest in Penn St. at a press conference on Thursday. BYU Head Coach Kalani Sitake who signed an extension to remain with the school this week after talking with Penn St. officials. CBS Sports reports that eight different coaches have turned down the Big Ten school.
According to ESPN, Penn St. started conversations with Campbell on Wednesday and officials flew out to meet him in Ames last night. Campbell is the 47th highest paid head coach in college football earning about $5 million per year. Campbell did sign an extension through the year 2032 which may contain some buyout money that Penn St. may have to pay out.
Campbell is the winningest coach in Iowa St. history, going 72-55 overall in 10 seasons and 8-4 this season. He is only 46 years old and has coached for 15 years. The 3 time Big 12 Coach of the Year has had 8 winning seasons with the Cyclones, appeared in two Big 12 championship games and won the 2020 Fiesta Bowl giving ISU its first ever Top 10 finish. Prior to coming to Ames, Campbell coached 5 seasons at Toledo and went 35-15. Campbell is from Masillon, Ohio just south of Akron — he attended the University of Pittsburgh for one year before transferring to the University of Mount Union in Ohio.
