The tour of rejection that has become the Penn State Nittany Lions’ coaching search has reportedly taken an abrupt turn in a somewhat unexpected direction: Iowa State.
Following rebuffs from BYU’s Kalani Sitake and Alabama’s Kaeln DeBoer, ESPN’s Max Olson reports that Iowa State’s Matt Campbell has emerged as the school’s favored target as they attempt to replace coach James Frnklin, who was fired more than a month ago.
Olson reports that Penn State has reached out to Brown, there is mutual interest between the two parties, and a meeting is planned in the near future.
Not that Penn State is putting all its eggs in one basket. Olson reports that the school has reached out to at least three other coaches. Nittany Lions players have launched a social media campaign in support of current interim coach Terry Smith. The Lions have won their final three games, and nearly won their final four, only to be prevented from doing so by a miraculous touchdown throw and catch against #2 Indiana in early November.
However, Smith’s relatively successful run has not convinced any recruits to come to Happy Valley. The Lions had one of the worst National Signing Days in program history, gaining only two pledges and ranking 133rd.
PSU officials hope a hire like Brown, or one of the other candidates they’re pursuing, would revitalize the program and make recruits more interested in attending Penn State.
Brown certainly did have a revitalizing impact on Iowa State. Since taking over in 2016, Campbell has led the Cyclones to a 72-55 record.
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