Blog Article
Penn State Fired A Coach Who Won 104 Games Because He Couldn’t Beat Elite Teams. Matt Campbell’s Record Says He Might Solve That Problem.
Penn State didn’t hire Matt Campbell.
They settled for him.
After 54 days of chaos (Pat Kraft whiffing on Matt Rhule, Mike Elko, Kalen DeBoer, and watching Kalani Sitake use Happy Valley as leverage for a BYU extension), the Nittany Lions landed on a coach who was never Plan A. The search that began with dreams of “championship-level” coaching ended with a guy whose ceiling is an open question. And yet, this might be exactly what Penn State needs.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Campbell is a better fit than the process suggests.
The Search Was a Disaster. The Outcome Wasn’t.
Let’s be clear about what happened.
Penn State fired James Franklin on October 12 after a 3-3 start, expecting to land a splash hire before the early signing period. Instead, Kraft conducted the longest Power 4 coaching search of the cycle. By National Signing Day, Penn State had signed exactly two recruits, ranking 134th nationally, while Franklin raided their class from Blacksburg. Former players called it “an unmitigated disaster.” Josh Pate said the search “feels lost.” Landon Tengwall called it “about as big a disaster as you could possibly imagine.”
All of that is true.
But none of it changes what Campbell actually brings.
The Franklin Comparison Everyone’s Making (And Getting Wrong)
The lazy take is that Penn State replaced Franklin with Franklin.
Both coaches hover around .600 win percentage. Both struggle against ranked opponents. Both have conference title game appearances but no championships. On paper, it looks like a lateral move. But that framing ignores context, and context is everything.
Here’s what the numbers actually say:
Campbell vs. Top 10 teams at Iowa State: 4-6 (40%)
Franklin vs. Top 10 teams at Penn State: 4-21 (16%)
Campbell won the same number of Top 10 games in 10 years at Iowa State as Franklin won in 11 years at Penn State. The difference? Campbell did it with the 68th-ranked roster in the talent composite. Franklin had top-10 recruiting classes almost every year.
That’s not the same coach.
That’s a coach who maximizes what he has, versus one who underperforms with what he’s given.
What Campbell Does Well
Campbell’s reputation isn’t built on schemes or slogans.
It’s built on development.
Before Campbell arrived in Ames, Iowa State hadn’t had a player drafted since 2014. Since then, he’s produced 15 NFL Draft picks, including Breece Hall, Brock Purdy, David Montgomery, and Will McDonald IV. He took a program that went 8-28 in the three years before he arrived and delivered eight winning seasons in ten years, two Big 12 title game appearances, and the program’s first-ever 11-win season in 2024.
His philosophy is simple: “Love, care, serve our players.”
That sounds soft until you realize his teams are consistently among the most physical in their conference. Campbell’s offensive identity is built on protecting the quarterback, running the ball downhill, and winning in the trenches. His defensive coordinator, Jon Heacock (who’s following him to Penn State), pioneered the 3-3-5 “three-high safety” scheme that’s been copied across college football. Iowa State ranked in the Big 12’s top three in scoring defense seven of the last eight years.
This isn’t a finesse operation.
It’s blue-collar football with a developmental edge.
The Staff Tells You Everything
Within days of being hired, Campbell made his philosophy clear.
He’s not here to manage someone else’s vision.
He let Jim Knowles walk to Tennessee, the highest-paid assistant in college football, fresh off a national title at Ohio State. He’s bringing his own people: Taylor Mouser as offensive coordinator, Jon Heacock on defense, Ryan Clanton on the offensive line, and Deon Broomfield in the secondary. Nine of his first ten hires came from Iowa State.
The only holdover? Terry Smith.
That’s significant. Smith was the interim coach who went 3-3 after Franklin’s firing. Players held up “HIRE TERRY SMITH” signs on the sideline. Keeping him signals continuity with the locker room while installing an entirely new system everywhere else.
Campbell isn’t blending philosophies.
He’s doing a full operating system replacement.
The Real Question: Can He Win the Games That Matter?
This is where skepticism is fair.
Campbell has never sustained a multi-year Top 10 operation. He’s 0-2 in conference championship games, losing to Oklahoma in 2020 and Arizona State in 2024. His teams have a habit of playing up to elite competition, only to fall short at the finish line. The 2020 Big 12 title game saw Iowa State fall behind 17-0 before mounting a comeback that came up short. The 2024 title game against Arizona State wasn’t close.
Sound familiar?
That’s the exact problem that got Franklin fired.
Penn State’s issue was never the floor. Franklin won 104 games in 11 seasons. The issue was the ceiling, specifically, a 4-21 record against Top 10 teams and a 2-21 record against Top 6 teams. The program that once competed for national titles under Joe Paterno has become a consistent “almost” program. Good enough to get ranked. Not good enough to break through.
Campbell’s track record doesn’t definitively answer whether he can fix that.
But the circumstances are different.
The Resource Upgrade Is Massive
Iowa State was a resource knife fight.
Campbell recruited against Oklahoma and Texas with a fraction of their budget, no blue-chip recruiting geography, and a fan base that had never seen sustained success. He turned Jack Trice Stadium into one of the toughest venues in the Big 12, but he was always swimming upstream.
Penn State is a different animal.
The Nittany Lions are committing $30 million in NIL money and $17 million in staff salary pool—among the highest commitments in the country. Campbell’s contract is $70.5 million guaranteed over eight years, with automatic extensions for playoff appearances. Beaver Stadium is undergoing a $700 million renovation. The recruiting geography includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and the DMV corridor.
Campbell has never had these resources.
The bet is that a coach who went 72-55 at Iowa State, with five eight-win seasons and the program’s only 11-win campaign, can do significantly more when he’s not outgunned on every front.
What Nick Saban Got Right (And Wrong)
Saban weighed in on the hire, calling Campbell “a great coach who’s proven on a consistent basis.”
Then he issued a warning.
“These places that have, to me, a little bit of unrealistic expectations that we’re going to win the national championship… to make that sort of the goal – we gotta win the championship or we’re gonna get rid of the coach – to me is totally wrong. They’ll have a hard time doing it if that’s the approach that they take.”
Saban’s point is valid: championship-or-bust thinking creates instability. Penn State hasn’t won a national title since 1986. They’ve made one playoff appearance ever. Demanding immediate championships from Campbell is unrealistic.
But Saban’s framing also misses something.
Penn State didn’t fire Franklin because he wasn’t winning championships. They fired him because he went 4-21 against Top 10 teams with top-10 recruiting classes. The standard isn’t “win it all.” The standard is “don’t collapse against elite competition every single time.”
That’s a different bar.
And Campbell has a better track record of clearing it.
The Pressure Meter
Current Hot Seat Temperature: COLD
Campbell gets a honeymoon period. Penn State’s 2026 roster is inexperienced after the recruiting disaster, and expectations should be modest for Year 1. The $70.5 million guaranteed contract gives him runway. The administration is invested in patience after the Kraft search debacle embarrassed the university.
What Would Heat Things Up:
- Losing to teams Penn State shouldn’t lose to (see: Franklin’s Northwestern loss)
- Failing to establish a recruiting foothold in Pennsylvania
- Another collapse against Ohio State/Oregon tier opponents in Years 2-3
- Portal mismanagement or roster instability
What Keeps Him Safe:
- 9-win floors with competitive losses to elite teams
- Development of homegrown talent and smart portal additions
- Playoff appearance by Year 3-4
- Beating a Top 10 team at least once per season
Campbell isn’t on the hot seat.
But the leash is shorter than his contract suggests, because the last coach proved you can win 104 games and still get fired for not winning the right ones.
The Bottom Line
Matt Campbell is a floor hire, not a ceiling hire.
He stabilizes the program. He installs a coherent identity. He develops players. He builds culture. He doesn’t embarrass the university with off-field chaos. He gives Penn State a high floor of 8-9 wins with an occasional 10-win season.
Is that enough?
It depends on what Penn State actually wants.
If the goal is “be consistently good and occasionally great,” Campbell is an A hire. If the goal is “become Ohio State,” the jury is still out. Campbell has never built a dynasty. He’s never recruited at a top-5 national level. He’s never won a conference championship.
But he’s also never had the resources to try.
Penn State is betting that the coach who overachieved at Iowa State can break through when he’s finally playing with a full deck. It’s a reasonable bet, probably the most sensible option available after the search went sideways.
The question now is simple:
Can Matt Campbell win the games James Franklin couldn’t?
We’re about to find out.
What do you think of the Campbell hire? Send me an email and let me know. mark@coacheshotseat.com