The firing of a college football coach is always a pitched time. It promises a brighter future, particularly for programs with the resources to pillage successful coaches from other programs.
So it was when Penn State fired James Franklin following back-to-back losses against UCLA and Northwestern, opening the door for a new coach to take the helm in Happy Valley. While Franklin found success with the Nittany Lions , his struggles against top opponents haunted him throughout his Penn State tenure, and the program decided to go in a different direction in what was shaping up to be a down year.
Penn State wasn't the only school to pull the ripcord early. Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, UCLA, and Arkansas were among the other teams in the country to bail on their coaching situations early in the year, ostensibly to get an early jump in the coaching search. Franklin was fired Oct. 12, arguably putting Penn State in a similar situation.
However, as other seats on the carousel were filled, the Nittany Lion figurine remained open. Teams who had fired their coaches well after the Nittany Lions found their respective replacements, and teams replacing coaches who departed for other programs started to punch their respective dance cards. All the while, rumors swirled around Penn State, as it tried to figure out who was going to lead it into a new era.
Enter Matt Campbell. Iowa State 's coach had made waves in previous coaching cycles before and even got a call from the NFL's Detroit Lions. Though some of the shine had worn off the Cyclones' coach since his 2020 Fiesta Bowl win over Oregon, he was known to have built a winning culture in Ames, upholding groundwork that was laid by Dan McCarney, but had since puttered out. Penn State is hoping Campbell can do even greater things at University Park, with what is perceived to be an even stronger infrastructure beneath him.
Penn State and Campbell seemingly weren't soul mates. He wasn't the first coach the program was on the horn with after Franklin's firing. In fact, a long, ultimately doomed courtship with another Big 12 coach was what led Campbell to Beaver Stadium.
Penn State made a concerted effort to hire BYU's Kalani Sitake, who has been coaching at his alma mater since 2016. Sitake's stock was at an all-time high, having led the Cougars to a 12-2 record by the end of the year and a Pop-Tarts Bowl win over Georgia Tech. Sitake, however, was drawn back into a long-term contract with BYU thanks in part to the campaigning efforts of Crumbl Cookie CEO and BYU alum Jason McGowan.
After Penn State was stonewalled in its pursuit of Sitake, the prevailing question had become: Who's next? Two coordinators perceived to be waiting in the wings, Tosh Lupoi and Will Stein, were locked up by Cal and Kentucky, respectively. Top non-Power coaches Jon Sumrall and Bob Chesney had gone to Florida and UCLA, respectively. Virginia Tech had scooped Franklin up in November, and Penn State was seemingly without a dance partner. It didn't, however, take long for the college world at large to get an answer. Campbell was hired Dec. 5, three days after Sitake's extension.
The hiring of Campbell was, a little over eight months ago, a minor miracle. Penn State's coaching search had devolved into a bit of a circus. Campbell ended up being the perfect hire to quiet the storm. But a new season brings new expectations, and he'll have to hit the ground running to make sure "Entry of the Gladiators" doesn't begin anew.
"Coach Campbell is, without a doubt, the right leader at the right time for Penn State Football," Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft said in a December statement announcing Campbell's hire. "He is a stellar coach with a proven track record of success and his values, character and approach to leading student-athletes to success on and off the field align perfectly with the traditions and values of Penn State."
Campbell posted a 72-55 record, including 50-40 in the Big 12, with Iowa State. He was a three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year with the Cyclones, peaking with a Fiesta Bowl win over Oregon in 2020-21.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matt Campbell saved Penn State from catastrophe: How Nittany Lions replaced James Franklin
