Feature image from Matthew Holst

Who Is He?

Currently Head Coach at Iowa State. Matt Campbell was the hot name on a lot of lists as he took Toledo to three 9-win seasons in his final four years there. He parlayed that into….Iowa State. Not to knock the Cyclones, but…they’re definitely in the bottom tier, however you define it, of power conference teams, right?

After a 3-9 first season, Campbell got everyone in Ames (that’s where they play, right? I’m not looking it up) excited with back to back 8-win campaigns (sound familiar?). He was a hot name again and mentioned every time a Nebraska or Oklahoma-like job opened up. People have now seemingly decided he’s a midwestern football coach…I guess?

Campbell did go to five consecutive bowls from the 2017-2021 seasons, rising as high as #9 in the country in 2020 (but IU also got to that in 2020, so…) and going 9-3, before falling back to 7-6 in 2021 and 4-8 this season.

Oh, by the way…ISU won 9 games one other time in their history, in 2000. Campbell is literally the best/most successful coach in Iowa State history and it’s not close.

Matt Campbell is currently still only 43 years old with 12 years of head coaching experience, an 81-57 collegiate record (46-42 at Iowa State) and multiple coach of the year awards (3X in the Big 12, once in the MAC).

Why would he be successful at Purdue?

Honestly, Matt Campbell seems like an ideal coach for a place like Purdue. He has won games at a subpar football school (sorry, Cyclone fans), he is a hard worker and has a lot of energy for the job. Even though he’s been a hot name a few times, I think fans do that thing where they look at his record and think well, I want more than occasional pops up to 8-9 wins…and I include some Purdue fans in that. You need to, as with many things in life, consider the context. He won 9 games three times at Toledo and 8+ three times in seven seasons at Iowa State. He’s been over .500 five of seven seasons in Iowa. That’s not easy to do at a program like that. Purdue is now (thanks to Brohm) a better program with better facilities, more money and a better history than Iowa State. Matt Campbell could be a longtime coach at Purdue and steadily win 6-9 games a year.

Why could he flop at Purdue?

Just like any coach, it’s a delicate balance at Purdue. If you don’t land a few key recruits or you lose guys to the portal or you get ravaged by injuries and don’t have endless five-stars to plug in like Ohio State, you can quickly spiral to be what IU is now.

Would he come to Purdue?

I think he would for the right offer and the right timing. His trajectory at Iowa State isn’t that dissimilar to Brohm’s at Purdue He came in, quickly righted the ship, won 8-9 games multiple times and has given them seven seasons (to Brohm’s six). Purdue can pay him more than Iowa State can and offer him stability, a job in the power 2 (Big Ten/SEC) and a better place to live.