Iowa State’s Matt Campbell Emerges As New Target Of Penn State Head Coach Search

There is a new favorite to land the Penn State head coaching job, or at least another candidate with a lot of smoke.

On Thursday afternoon, word started coming out that Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell was the next target of Pat Kraft’s head coach search.

All reports indicate that there will be a meeting between Campbell and the ISU leadership on Friday morning.

BREAKING: Sources close to Iowa State confirm Matt Campbell has spoken with Penn State AD Pat Kraft.

Campbell is set to meet with the ISU President’s office tomorrow morning.

They tell me there’s no concern inside the program yet, but the situation is being monitored closely. pic.twitter.com/JQNyxBojdZ

— Wilson F. Ball (@WillyFoosball) December 4, 2025

That will play a big factor in what goes down.

Can Campbell get the resources he wants out of Iowa State despite an athletic department that’s reportedly losing $25 million per year? That may determine what happens with the Penn State head coaching job.

Reports indicate that there has been increased confidence on the Penn State side throughout Thursday and the level of concern at Iowa State has similarly increased.

Campbell is looked at as an excellent gameday coach who has done more with less. In an even more remote location than Happy Valley and without the Penn State budget, Campbell has remained competitive in the power four, going 72-55 (69-46 excluding his first year) in 10 seasons with the Cyclones.

When he took over the program, they had won eight games total in the preceding three years, averaging a 3-9 record or worse. It had been seven years since they had a winning season at that point and they have had just one losing season since Campbell’s first in Ames.

Prior to that, he coached Toledo for five years to the tune of a 35–15 record.

In 2024, Campbell had the Cyclones 11–3 and at 15 in the polls. At Iowa State, he’s 10-19 against ranked opponents and he’s overall 4-4 against top 10 teams.