In his introduction as the new head coach at Penn State on Monday, Matt Campbell fought back tears while expressing his gratitude for an opportunity that he considers a "dream come true."
In his first public comments since departing Iowa State on Friday after a decade-long tenure for the Big Ten power, Campbell said he's eager to get to work after a whirlwind five-day process brought the Massillon, Ohio, native closer to home to lead a program with championship ambitions.
"It's one of the greatest honors of my life, and I couldn't be more grateful to be here," Campbell said.
Campbell, the winningest coach in Iowa State history with 72 victories, said making the move was a family decision that brings him closer to his parents, who live less than three hours away. He's had many other high-profile job opportunities in recent years and wasn't leaving unless he found a program that he felt stood for all the right values.
"Matt Campbell is Penn State: hard-nosed, humble, relentless, a developer of young men, and he's built for championships," Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said. "He embraces our expectations, not as pressure but as a privilege."
Campbell led Iowa State to two Big 12 championship games during his tenure and was one win away from reaching the College Football Playoff in 2024. Moving into the Big Ten brings a new level of challenges, and Campbell said he and his coaches will set out to build "championship habits" one day at a time at a program that fell well short of expectations in 2025.
Penn State's coaching search extended more than 50 days after coach James Franklin was fired on Oct. 12 amid a disappointing 3-3 start that dropped the No. 2 team in the preseason AP Top 25 out of the national title race one year after reaching the CFP semifinals.
After coach Kalani Sitake decided to remain at BYU last week, Kraft and Campbell connected late Wednesday night for a phone call that left the AD enthusiastic and wondering why it had taken so long to arrive at the "perfect" candidate.
"There's a lot of turns, and I appreciate the media speculating and putting things out there every step of the way that was true or not true," Kraft said, "But we got the guy we want -- the guy who was gonna lead us to a national championship and bring us back to the best program in the country."
Campbell agreed to retain longtime assistant Terry Smith, the Nittany Lions' interim coach for their final seven games, on his staff. Smith's prior relationship with Campbell dates back to his time as football coach and AD at Gateway High School from 2002-2012.
"It was critically important for me to keep Terry, in my opinion," Campbell said. "I know what he's about and what he stands for."
Campbell acknowledged he brought Derek Hoodjer with him from Iowa State to take over as Penn State's general manager and plans to build out a front office staff around him, but he offered no other updates on the ongoing process of assembling his first coaching staff.
Kraft apologized for his comments in a meeting with a small group of Penn State players that leaked last week, in which Kraft made disparaging remarks about Big Ten rivals Michigan and Oregon while discussing the coaching search.
"What I will tell you is I'm embarrassed," Kraft said. "I apologize to anyone that I may have offended with that video that leaked. Personally, it's been challenging for me. ... I've got to get better, but every one of my athletes know they can call me at any point in time and have open and I have open and honest discussions whenever they want."
The Nittany Lions will close out their 6-6 season in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27 (12 p.m. ET, ABC) against Clemson Tigers, another preseason top-five team that fell short of expectations at 7-5.
Campbell said he's still working to determine his role for the bowl game so that he's not a "hindrance" to the team has he gets started.