Penn State football might close in on a deal with Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell, but it has yet to be made official. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, both parties — the Nittany Lions and Campbell — were still in discussion shortly after 5 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 5.
Thamel then provided an update at 6:48 p.m., reporting that the Cyclones are holding a team meeting at 8 p.m. ET. Still, it is not confirmed that Campbell is the next Penn State head coach.
The update of a meeting occurring is intriguing for Nittany Lions fans, yet still ominous. Especially given the publicity of Campbell being Penn State's target, a team meeting can sway either way whether it's in favor or not of the blue and white.
There’s a team meeting for Iowa State players at 8 pm EST, per a source. https://t.co/ArKKDxlLa4
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 5, 2025
It's been about one day since Campbell emerged as Penn State's target. After BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was put in the spotlight as the top candidate, it took roughly 24 hours for him to deny interest. However, there was no report of a team meeting happening while Sitake was the main target.
Signs are pointing in a positive direction for the Nittany Lions, but like others, Campbell can always turn around and claim he's staying with Iowa State despite a hard push from athletic director Pat Kraft to get him in Happy Valley.
Kraft is going all-in on Campbell as his options for the next head coach dwindle down expeditiously. Whether this works out well in the long-term is completely unknown. While Campbell is one of the better options out there for Kraft to jump on, it's not a guaranteed home run.
Matt Campbell reportedly Penn State's next head coaching, according to ESPN
Thamel reported soon after the announcement of the Iowa State team meeting that Campbell and Penn State are awaiting board approval to confirm the deal.
If approved, Campbell and the Nittany Lions agreed to an eight-year deal with an unknown salary as of the latest update. The update of the lengthy contract comes just 40 minutes before the reported team meeting Campbell is having with the Cyclones.
Follow latest updates on the Campbell hire here: Penn State reportedly hires Matt Campbell to new multi-year deal that's hard to believe