Matt Campbell is preparing for his first season as the head coach of the Penn State football program.
Campbell spent 10 seasons as Iowa State’s head coach, finishing as the winningest coach in program history before coming to Happy Valley. Campbell had been a big name for years, and it turns out that he accepted one NFL job in 2021 before changing his mind and ultimately staying at Iowa State.
“The three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year and winningest coach in Iowa State history had rebuffed overtures from other big-time college programs over the years, including from Texas and USC, according to sources. In 2021, Campbell initially agreed to coach the Detroit Lions before changing his mind; the Lions hired Dan Campbell instead,” according to Jake Trotter of ESPN.
In the end, the Lions hired another Campbell, Dan, who has found success with Detroit over a few seasons as head coach.
Matt Campbell, however, stayed at Iowa State, but he finally left this past offseason in what was a very busy college football coaching carousel.
Penn State fired James Franklin in October, but the Nittany Lions missed on several candidates, including Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea and BYU’s Kalani Sitake, before hiring Campbell and giving him an eight-year deal worth $70.5 million.
Still, one can only imagine what would’ve happened if Matt Campbell took the Lions job in 2021.
