No, folks, it was not a dream.

Penn State football finally shut the door on its head coaching search, signing Iowa State’s Matt Campbell to an eight-year deal after a wild 54-day journey.

Campbell is now Penn State’s 17th permanent head coach in program history and only the fourth in the last 59 years. Here’s a quick rundown of the new boss in the Lasch Building.

Playing Career

Campbell was born on November 29, 1979, and grew up in Massillon, Ohio. He played his high school ball at Perry High School, winning three conference championships. He secured a scholarship to Pitt in 1998, but transferred to Division III Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, after his freshman year.

As a member of the Purple Raiders, Campbell starred on the defensive line during four consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference championships and three straight Division III titles from 2000 to 2002. He was a two-time conference defensive lineman of the year and went 54-1 during his time at his alma mater. Campbell was inducted into the Mount Union Hall of Fame in 2018.

Coaching Career

Campbell landed his first coaching gig straight out of college as a graduate assistant working with the tight ends at Bowling Green. He helped the Falcons to Motor City Bowl and GMAC Bowl wins in 2003 and 2004 and one MAC West title.

Campbell flipped back to Mount Union as his alma mater’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 2005 to 2006. The Purple Raiders won two more national championships and went 29-1 in Campbell’s two-year stretch.

Despite getting his fifth Division III ring, Campbell made the trip back to Bowling Green as the Falcons’ offensive line coach in 2007. After another two-year stint coaching the unit, he was named run game coordinator at Toledo and promoted to offensive coordinator in 2010.

In Toledo’s 2011 season, Campbell led the Rockets to top-10 national finishes in scoring and total offense. He filled in as interim head coach when Tim Beckman, whom Campbell had worked with at Bowling Green, departed to be Illinois’ head coach. Toledo dropped the interim title before Campbell and the Rockets beat Air Force in the Military Bowl. The then-32-year-old became the youngest head coach at the FBS level.

Toledo saw a lot of success in Campbell’s four-year stint at the helm. He led the Rockets to a 35-15 record under his direction with back-to-back MAC West titles in 2014 and 2015. The 2015 Rockets reached as high as No. 19 in the AP Poll, their highest rank at any point since 1971. He was named the 2015 MAC Coach of the Year.

Campbell took the Iowa State job on November 29, 2015, his 36th birthday. He went 3-9 in his first season at the helm in 2016, but that proved to be just a buffer before he completely rejuvenated a lost Cyclone program.

In 2017, Campbell led the Cyclones to an 8-5 record with their first winning season and bowl win since his predecessor Paul Rhoads’ first year in 2009. Iowa State entered the AP Poll for the first time since 2005 in October behind wins over No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 4 TCU. The Cyclones were 1-56-2 all-time against AP top-five opponents before that. Iowa State won its fourth-ever bowl over No. 19 Memphis.

He won Big 12 Coach of the Year in just his second season. That kicked off a five-year winning season and bowl appearance streak. The Cyclones’ last two-year winning streak came in 2004 and 2005 under Dan McCarney.

Campbell’s 2019 squad demolished multiple Iowa State offensive records behind All-Big 12 quarterback Brock Purdy. The Cyclones set all-time bests in total offense, passing offense, yards per play, and points scored.

In 2020 and 2021, Campbell led the Cyclones to No. 8 and No. 7 highs in the AP Poll, the top marks in program history. The Cyclones ended 2020 as the No. 9 team in the country, only the third time they’d ever closed out a season ranked.

Campbell won his third Big 12 Coach of the Year honor en route to a signature Fiesta Bowl win over No. 25 Oregon, Iowa State’s first-ever New Year’s Six Bowl. The Cyclones also finished in first place in the Big 12’s final regular-season standings, but lost the conference championship to No. 12 Oklahoma. Nonetheless, 2020 was a pivotal year in Campbell’s success in Ames.

Iowa State had its first true down year under Campbell in 2022, finishing 4-8 despite a 3-0 start to the season. The Cyclones came out in 2023 with a 7-6 record and a Liberty Bowl loss. They won four consecutive Big 12 road games in October to set up bowl eligibility despite a slow start in non-conference play.

All of Campbell’s work at Iowa State led to arguably its best season in program history in 2024. Campbell led the Cyclones to an 11-3 record, their first double-digit win season ever. The Cyclones started 7-0 and made the Big 12 title game once more, but fell to eventual national quarterfinalists Arizona State. Campbell’s squad ended the season ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll and won a thrilling Pop-Tarts Bowl over Miami.

The Cyclones couldn’t ride the 2024 high this season, but still finished 8-4 in Campbell’s last season at the helm. Iowa State finished seventh in the Big 12 and is awaiting its bowl designation. Campbell ended his career in Ames with a 72-55 overall record and a 3-4 bowl record. His overall head coaching record currently stands at 107-70 with a 5-5 bowl record.

What’s Next?

Recruit, recruit, recruit.

Penn State has served as the nation’s laughingstock in the recruiting world since James Franklin landed the Virginia Tech job. The Nittany Lions inked two recruits on National Signing Day, setting them up at No. 155 on 247Sports’ Composite rankings. Iowa State currently holds the 50th-ranked 2026 recruiting class in the nation, per the same metric.

While a lot of Penn State fans were upset that the Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics couldn’t land BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, a big question mark on the probable hire was Sitake’s recruiting prowess in the Mid-Atlantic.

With Campbell’s Ohio ties, it doesn’t seem like much of a hurdle. He should be able to build a new recruiting class and be ready to hit the portal once it opens in January.

Campbell flexed his recruiting talent throughout his time at Iowa State. His first nine classes as the Cyclone boss rank among the best in program history, and his 2022 class ranked in the 247Sports and Rivals’ top-25.

He produced 15 NFL draft picks over his 10 years at the helm, including Will McDonald IV, Iowa State’s first first-round pick in 50 years. Campbell also produced San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who played in Super Bowl LVIII and was an NFL MVP candidate in 2023.

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Campbell’s introductory press conference as Penn State’s head coach is set for noon on Monday, December 8.