Sources: PSU tabs Iowa State’s Campbell as coach

Iowa State coach Matt Campbell agreed to an eight-year deal to become the next coach at Penn State, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The deal will go before the compensation committee of the school’s board of trustees for final approval Monday.

Campbell, the winningest coach in Iowa State history, met with Penn State officials Thursday night before negotiating a deal Friday. Iowa State quickly moved to hire Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers to replace Campbell, the school announced.

In its search to replace longtime coach James Franklin, who was fired Oct. 12, Penn State shifted its focus to Campbell after BYU coach Kalani Sitake agreed to a long-term extension Tuesday to remain with the Cougars.

Campbell, the three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year, led the Cyclones for 10 seasons and achieved eight winning seasons, two Big 12 championship game appearances and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Oregon in 2020 for the school’s first top-10 finish.

Campbell, 46, went 72-55 during his decade at Iowa State, becoming its winningest coach last season, and went 35-15 as coach at Toledo from 2011 to 2015.

He’ll bring strong Midwest ties to the job as a Massillon, Ohio, native who began his college playing career at Pitt before winning three national championships as a player at Division III Mount Union.

This season, Iowa State started 5-0 and climbed as high as No. 14 in the AP poll before a four-game losing streak knocked the team out of the Big 12 title race. The Cyclones rallied with a three-game win streak in November to go 8-4.

Last year, Iowa State went 11-3 in 2024 and would’ve advanced to the College Football Playoff with a victory over Arizona State in the Big 12 title game.

The program finished No. 15 in the AP poll after defeating Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Campbell and his coaching staff have developed 15 NFL draft picks over the past seven years, including NFL stars Brock Purdy, Breece Hall and David Montgomery, and defensive end Will McDonald IV became the first Cyclone to be selected in the first round since 1973.

Before Campbell’s arrival, Iowa State hadn’t had a winning season since 2009 and hadn’t played in a Big 12 championship game. The Cyclones won 14 games against AP Top 25 opponents during his tenure.

Campbell has been a serious candidate for high-profile coaching jobs throughout his decade at Iowa State, including the Detroit Lions and USC, but has preferred to stay in Ames and continue building a program that had never achieved a 10-win season until last year.

Campbell was earning $5 million per year in total compensation at Iowa State after agreeing to a contract extension through 2032 with the school earlier this year.

Penn State ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP Top 25 and was expected to compete for a national championship in 2025 after reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals last season. Franklin was fired during a three-game losing streak to open Big Ten play that dropped the Nittany Lions out of the Top 25 at 3-3.

Franklin agreed to a five-year deal to become the coach at Virginia Tech on Nov. 17 and a $9 million settlement with Penn State on the $49 million buyout that he was originally owed upon his firing.

Former Penn State interim coach Terry Smith has agreed to a four-year deal to stay on staff at the school and work with Campbell, sources told Thamel, confirming a report by Inside the Lions. Smith is a Penn State graduate who has been a linchpin on the school’s staff the last 12 seasons. The school won its final three Big Ten games this year to become bowl-eligible at 6-6 under Smith’s leadership.