And, on Day 53 A.J.F. — After James Franklin, Penn State tried to close a deal with yet another coaching candidate.
Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has emerged as the latest frontrunner for the Nittany Lions’s vacancy, empty since Franklin was fired October 12 on the heels of his team’s 3-3 start and third-consecutive loss at the time.
Penn State finished its season 6-6.
Sources from agents to sitting NCAA Division I head coaches to people with intricate knowledge of Pat Kraft’s protracted Penn State search said that Thursday evening Penn State leadership was working to try to hammer out a deal with Campbell in a series of talks that included, sources told FootballScoop, a meeting between Campbell and Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi was to be conducted Thursday evening. It wasn’t specified if that meeting was face-to-face or via Zoom.
FootballScoop reported earlier this week that a frustrated Penn State administration had waded more directly into the search process as Kraft has whiffed on countless candidates, from Indiana’s Curt Cignetti to Georgia Tech’s Brent Key to Louisville’s Jeff Brohm, ex-Giants coach Brian Daboll and Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer. Penn State also saw James Madison and Kentucky execute searches this week that opened and closed in 48-72 hours and not 50-plus days and counting. The Nittany Lions also interviewed Bob Chesney, who accepted the UCLA Bruins’ head-coaching offer earlier this week after he waited out a potential offer from Penn State that sources shared never arrived.
Campbell made a base salary of $5 million this season — No. 47 nationally per the USA Today Coaches’ Salary Database — as he guided Iowa State to an 8-4 campaign and what will be the program’s eighth bowl game under his guidance. Campbell, however, has been routinely awarded lengthy contract extensions at Iowa State as several schools have sought to pry him away from the Cyclones; his contract stipulates a buyout of $2 million.
Urgency has been ratcheted up in UnHappy Valley a day after Penn State had its worst signing day in modern history and ranked below No. 130 in the industry-standard 247Sports Composite when it signed just two players.
Myriad factors are at play for Penn State. The longer this search drags out, the greater likelihood that more Nittany Lions players further explore their NCAA Transfer Portal options. The first-ever single Portal Window opens Jan. 2-16, 2026.
Additionally, while Penn State signed just a couple of players on Wednesday at the onset of the early signing period that concludes Friday, there is another signing period on the first Wednesday in February, 2026.
The Nittany Lions also qualified for the postseason with their 40-36 win at Rutgers last Saturday. They are expected to receive a bowl invitation Sunday afternoon after the College Football Playoff Selection Committee seeds the second-ever 12-team field.
