Matt Campbell-to-Michigan rumor proves what media, fans refuse to admit

Michigan Wolverine fans are going through it all right now. Less than two weeks ago, they got blown out by Ohio State at home, marking their first loss to the reigning national champion Buckeyes since the world found out about COVID-19.

Then this past Wednesday, head coach Sherrone Moore ended up being fired by the university for having an "inappropriate relationship with a staff member". Hours later, he was in jail as a suspect in an alleged assault.

Give credit to Michigan for (supposedly) not covering up this particular scandal, but coming off the back of the infamous sign-stealing regime that most assuredly played a role in their 2023 national championship-winning season, it goes without saying that the latest happenings give the Ann Arbor school an even worse look than they otherwise might.

Regardless, and as insensitive as it might seem right now, we can't ignore the obvious: the Moore situation has naturally added even more drama to a season that has already been loaded with coaching carousel rumors and surprises, as the Michigan job is now surprisingly open.

Penn State fans know it all too well, having just spent the better part of two months waiting and waiting for the university to hire a new head football coach following the October firing of 12-year head coach James Franklin, who just 12 months ago was preparing to lead the Nittany Lions on a College Football Playoff run that ended with a heartbreaker in the Orange Bowl semifinal against Notre Dame.

For what it's worth, at least Franklin, who has since taken the Virginia Tech job, didn't end up behind bars following his State College firing. But I digress.

Penn State's long and winding head coaching search

We can probably list off over a dozen candidates Penn State was supposedly "linked" to during those 54 days before they finally signed Iowa State's Matt Campbell, who breathed life into a historically bad Cyclones program during his 10 years in Ames and repeatedly turned down NFL offers to do so.

Yet the very folks who spent the past nine years calling for Franklin to be replaced due to his repeated inability to beat Ohio State, or really any top five team, suddenly started to suggest that Penn State made a mistake by firing him in the middle of the 2025 season.

They pointed not only to the fact that Penn State's coaching search generated their other alleged targets nearly $400 million in extensions elsewhere, as coach after coach was taken off the board, but to the fact that Campbell's Iowa State resurgence record is somewhat Franklin-like from Franklin's Vanderbilt days.

Now Michigan is in a spot where they have gotten an extremely late start on a head coaching search that just a couple days ago didn't seem like would be necessary, and former Michigan offensive lineman Taylor Lewan offered a hot take that Penn State fans will surely find comical.

Matt Campbell to Michigan?

Lewan suggested that Michigan check in on Campbell, just days after Campbell signed an eight-year deal to come to State College.

Of course, this is not to say that Penn State fans weren't after their own "pipe dream" candidates at various points during the 54-day coaching search to replace Franklin.

The fact that Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer was supposedly "the guy" simply because someone with zero inside knowledge of anything started the rumor on some random online forum is objectively hilarious, even if you're a hardcore Penn State fan.

Now we've even reached the "DeBoer-to-Michigan" stage, which will definitely end well (for the Crimson Tide, that is); aside from Campbell, Lewan even mentioned DeBoer, along with Jesse Minter and Kenny Dillingham.

But while we won't get into the specifics of Lewan's own extremely controversial Michigan past, what we will say is this: the fact that he actually made this bizarre Matt Campbell-to-Michigan suggestion goes to prove two things.

First of all, it proves he's delusional (or, at the very least, wants to stir the pot), but second of all, and more importantly, it proves what the media has been hesitant to admit: that Penn State got the right guy.

Penn State got the right guy in Matt Campbell, like it or not

The fact that the Michigan job is being linked (if you want to call it that) to the head coach Penn State literally just hired earlier this week goes to show that this is the very home run hire the media don't want you to think it is.

The narrative, all along, has been that Penn State missed out on their top 12 or 14 targets. The narrative, all along, has been that Penn State should stick with Terry Smith and try again next year. The narrative, all along, has been that they "settled" for Matt Campbell.

The narrative, all along, has been that James Franklin, the same guy who was harassed and even threatened by certain members of the fanbase and student body following his 0-3 start in Big Ten play this season, was suddenly "done wrong" by Penn State and athletic director Pat Kraft when he was let go just six games after the Nittany Lions' 2024-2025 CFP run.

But here's another reality: if you had told anybody, Michigan fan or otherwise, at the start of the season that the Michigan job would be open come December, that job would undoubtedly be atop anybody's list.

So an ex-Michigan All-American and ex-NFL Pro Bowler seriously suggesting Matt Campbell for that role, ironically for Michigan to avoid what Penn State just went through to sign him, goes to show just how respected Campbell really is and just how much potential he has to get Penn State back to where Penn State desires to be.

Campbell's track record with minimal resources speaks for itself, but of course, what we haven't yet seen is how capable he is of performing when he has an abundance of those resources. Can he face the pressure and rise to the challenge?

Perhaps the real perception that most folks have, even if it's still hard for some to admit, is that he can indeed be the guy to move the needle in Happy Valley.

Maybe he wasn't just a mere "fallback option" like they want you to think he was.