Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell watches from the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Penn State appears to have its man.

Several national media outlets, including ESPN and Yahoo, started reporting around noon today that Iowa State coach Matt Campbell is in the “final stages of negotiations” to become the Nittany Lions’ new head coach.

Campbell met with Iowa State officials earlier this morning.

There has not yet been formal confirmation from Penn State or Iowa State, but Penn State’s Board of Trustees’ Equity and Human Resources Committee, which must approve compensation, today scheduled meetings for Dec. 8-11.

Pete Thamel of ESPN reported, “There’s multiple steps needed to finalize, including agreeing to terms and formal approval of compensation.”

FootballScoop reported a Penn State source confirmed, “Good chance we have our man today.”

Pete Nakos of On3.com reported Penn State brass flew to Ames on Thursday to sit down with Campbell.

School president Neeli Bendapudi was reportedly part of the contingent, including athletic director Pat Kraft, who fired James Franklin on Oct. 12.

Shannon Ehrhardt, who covers Iowa State for KCCI, in Ames, tweeted this afternoon that she heard from one of the Cyclones players, who said, “The team just found out from social media that their head coach was expected to finalize a deal with Penn State.”

Campbell, 46, is 72-55 through 10 seasons at Iowa State with two appearances in the Big 12 championship game.

His apparent hiring ends a 54-day search that saw several other candidates receive lucrative contract extensions, including Brigham Young’s Kalani Sitake, who decided on Tuesday to remain in Provo after reportedly making a handshake agreement with Kraft on Sunday.

Louisville coach Jeff Brohm was then reportedly offered the position and signed a contract extension that was announced Wednesday.

That shifted the search to Campbell, who has been the Big 12 coach of the year three times (2017, 2018 and 2020) and has been the subject of numerous openings, college and NFL, over the past few years.

Campbell’s best season was a school-record 11 wins in 2024. The Cyclones finished 8-4 this season and 4-3 in the Big 12.

Prior to Iowa State, Campbell spent four seasons at Toledo (2012-15), producing four winning seasons and a 35-15 record.

He began his career as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green then moved to Division III power Mount Union, his alma mater, before going back to Bowling Green for two seasons and joining the Toledo staff as an assistant and then offensive coordinator in 2009.

Campbell, a native of Massillon, Ohio, was a defensive lineman at Mount Union.

He is earning $5 million annually.

Franklin, now Virginia Tech’s head coach, was making $8.5 million per year at Penn State (through 2031).

Kraft reportedly offered Sitake $10 million annually for six years.

PSU interim coach Terry Smith guided the Lions to a 3-3 record after Franklin’s exit and had expressed an interest in becoming the permanent head coach.

Many of the Penn State players, current and past, had voiced their support for Smith.