Penn State’s head coaching search finally came to an end on Friday when they hired Matt Campbell, who has been the coach of Iowa State for 10 years.
Before that, Campbell was the head coach at Toledo. His hiring at Penn State marks the end of one of the most long and dramatic coaching searches in college football history.
It began when longtime Head Coach James Franklin was fired on Oct. 12. The firing came after three consecutive losses, two of them being to unranked opponents, after starting the season at number two in the AP Poll. The biggest criticism of Franklin was that he could not win big games, but then it seemed like he could not win little games either.
“Ultimately, I believe a new leader can help us win a national championship, and now is the right time for this change,” Athletic Director Pat Kraft said after the firing.
Penn State believed that they were a top program in the nation and that the season they were having was not good enough.
The only problem was that they could not find a new coach. Franklin found a job at Virginia Tech before Penn State could find a coach. In fact, the coaches that Penn State went after earned about $300 million in contract extensions to stay at their schools.
Immediately after the firing, Penn State was pursuing Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti and Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule. Both coaches signed extensions.
The craziest story about this search came when Penn State was in deep talks with BYU Head Coach Kalani Sitake. This was until the CEO of Crumbl Cookies, Jason McGowan, came in to keep Sitake at BYU.
McGowan sent out a tweet that said, “Some people are not replaceable. Sounds like it is time for me to get off the sidelines and get to work.”
He and other donors stepped in, and Sitake signed a big extension with BYU.
During the Penn State search, many of the players were campaigning for the interim head coach, Terry Smith, to be hired as the head coach.
When Smith filled in, he was faced with three straight ranked opponents to start his career. Despite not winning any of them, he kept it close with Iowa and Indiana, which is currently the number one team in the country.
After those first three games, he won three straight, leading to Penn State qualifying for a bowl game. Smith brought a great energy to the team and the offense really woke up under him, thanks to how he utilized star running back Kaytron Allen.
Despite Smith’s success, Penn State found their guy in Campbell. They signed him to an eight-year contract with $70.5 million in guaranteed money. The deal includes incentives such as a one-year extension for each playoff appearance.
Smith will stay on Campbell’s staff, which will hopefully keep players from transferring away from Penn State.
Campbell was a great choice. He is a proven leader and did a great job turning around Iowa State’s football program.
His composure at his Penn State press conference was very promising. He seems like he loves the program and really wants to be in Happy Valley.
The only problem with the hire was how dragged out the process was and how many recruits Penn State lost.
On national signing day, Penn State only had two commits. Over 20 recruits decommitted and about 10 recruits followed Franklin to Virginia Tech.
Franklin’s best trait as a coach was his ability to recruit. Losing a whole year of recruits after consistently being among the top recruiting classes in the nation will severely hurt Penn State. What they need to do to succeed is attract transfers this year and fill their roster out.
On the bright side, Penn State’s schedule next year is extremely easy. They will not have to play the top three teams in the Big Ten in Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana.
Their toughest opponents are Washington, USC, and Michigan. If next year they can at least win one of these games and win their other games to finish 10-2, they will be able to salvage their recruiting.
Campbell definitely has a tough task at hand, but a lot of his future at Penn State relies on next season and his ability to bring recruits back to Penn State.
