Penn State on the verge of finally ending its embarrassing coaching search

Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft has had the rug pulled out from under him more than a few times this offseason, but it seems that he’s finally on the verge of bringing the embarrassing saga to an end. Days after striking out on BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, Penn State is reportedly working to finalize a deal to bring Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell to Happy Valley. 

On3 has reported that Campbell has emerged as Penn State’s top target in recent days, and it seems that Kraft is finally about to seal the deal with James Franklin’s replacement after firing the longtime head coach following an 0-3 start to Big Ten play. 

While Penn State went from the first big-time job to open to the last to fill its vacancy over the last few months and the job has gotten plenty of head coaches paid. Along with Sitake, who is staying in Provo with a contract extension and additional NIL resources being allocated to the roster, Curt Cignetti, Matt Rhule, Mike Elko, Eli Drinkwitz, Clark Lea, and Brent Key were all rumored candidates for the job and all signed extensions to stay put at their current jobs. 

Penn State working to finalize a deal with Matt Campbell as its next head coach

Campbell just posted an 8-4 record in his 10th season at Iowa State. The former Toledo head coach grew up in Ohio and had a short stint at Pitt before transferring to Mount Union as a player from 1999-2002. Campbell has long been viewed as a head coach who has done more with less, leading Iowa State to its best season in program history, winning 11 games in 2024, and now he’ll have a chance to compete at the top of the Big Ten with more resources than he ever had in Ames.

Along with the most resources, Campbell will also have the highest expectations of his career in Happy Valley. Across his 11-plus seasons at Penn State, James Franklin won double-digit games six times and just last season led the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff Semifinal with a 13-3 record. Campbell will be expected to at least live up to those results and could have an uphill climb to do it.

With so much uncertainty in the coaching search, Penn State's 2026 recruiting class crumbled, adding to the embarrassment of being outbid for Sitakes by the Crumbl Cookie CEO (along with many other deep-pocketed BYU boosters). Penn State signed just two players on Wednesday as the Early Signing Period began with a recruiting class that now ranks 155th in the country according to 247Sports Composite.

To compound the roster construction challenges that Campbell will now face, many of Penn State's veteran players, including junior linebacker Tony Rojas, were vocal advocates for interim head coach Terry Smith, and may consider transferring away now that he has been passed over for the job.