Young coaches with experience on both sides of the football are hard to find. Highly successful ones are an even rarer commodity. Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell meets those NFL requirements. Will he be in the conversation for potential NFL head coaching vacancies at the end of the 2020 season?
Football in the blood
As the son of a high school head coach, Matt Campbell was born with football in the blood. His father, Rick Campbell, was the coach at Jackson High School in Ohio. Surrounded by football at a young age, he was destined to pursue a career in the sport. However, he would stray from his father’s path by playing high school football at rival Perry High School.
Perry provided Campbell with his first taste of football success. The school won three conference championships with him on the team and that success followed him to college football. After a year at the University of Pittsburgh, Campbell transferred to Mount Union, where he won three Division III championships. As a defensive lineman at Mount Union, he garnered the skillset and techniques that would aid him in his coaching career.
Multiple coaching roles set Matt Campbell up for success
After his playing days at Mount Union were done, Matt Campbell remained immersed in the football world. Between 2003 and 2009, he took on multiple roles at Mount Union and Bowling Green, starting out as a general assistant. Despite his defensive history as a player, he excelled on the offensive side of the ball. Campbell held roles as offensive line coach, running game coordinator, and offensive coordinator in that spell.
Campbell took on those roles at Toledo from 2009 before his first opportunity as a head coach presented itself. He won the 2011 Military Bowl as interim coach, landing himself the job permanently. Former Toledo head coach Tim Beckman lavished praise on the hire, saying: “Matt Campbell is one of the brightest young minds in college football today. He’s a winner. He’s a champion.”
Beckman proved to be correct, as Campbell presided over a four-year spell of success at Toledo. During his tenure, they won two of three bowl games, were ranked as high as 19th by AP, and Campbell was named the 2015 MAC Coach of the Year.
Matt Campbell’s time as Iowa State’s head coach
A winner and a champion was an injection of what the Iowa State Cyclones needed. The team was mired in mediocrity, with their last winning season coming in 2009. With a mantra of “recruit, retain, and develop”, Matt Campbell was the man chosen to turn around the fortunes. The Cyclones made him the youngest head coach in the Big 12 conference.
Although the hire didn’t pay immediate dividends, Campbell’s influence was clear. After going 3-9 in his first season as the head coach, Iowa State would embark on an unprecedented run of success. The 2017 season saw the highest number of wins for the program since 2000. A consecutive 8-5 season in 2018 saw the Cyclones secure six conference wins for the first time in program history.
Campbell honored by the Big 12 conference
Despite not making the Big 12 Championship in those seasons, Matt Campbell was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2018. It was a testament to the remarkable change of culture and success that he had overseen at Iowa State.
Although 2019 was a slightly less successful year (7-6), Campbell has the Cyclones set for their most impressive season in program history. They already have their best Big 12 record in program history. As a result, they will play in their first Big 12 Championship game since the early 1900s. This winning season will mark the first time since the 1920s that Iowa State has had four consecutive winning seasons.
On-field and off-field philosophy
The on-field success has been a result of Campbell’s offensive coaching philosophy. He uses a balanced offense, combining the run game with a spread passing game. Campbell’s use of tight ends in the passing game is particularly relevant to current NFL use at the position. He employs a bend-but-don’t-break philosophy on defense, which has seen the Cyclones rank 27th out of 130 teams for points allowed in 2020.
Off the field, Campbell’s “recruit, retain, and develop” philosophy is clear in his current team. His fingerprints are all over the future of the program as well. The latest crop of recruits rave about the culture that Campbell has built at Iowa State. Linebacker commit Carston Marshall told 247 Sports: “Coach Campbell has turned this team around and it is very exciting to see where this program is going.”
Teams rumored to be interested in Campbell as head coach
Will Matt Campbell be at Iowa State to oversee that next crop of recruits? According to USA Today, Campbell could be in the running to replace Tom Herman as Texas head coach, but he may not be interested in that role. He could also potentially be a front runner for an NFL head coach vacancy, despite a lack of experience at the next level.
Where will he go, and will he even leave the Cyclones to go to the NFL?
Matt Campbell has NFL history dating back to 2003-2004. Scott Pioli, then at the New England Patriots, invited Campbell to interview for a role at the Patriots. Campbell declined. In 2018, the New York Jets had Campbell at the top of their head coaching list. Once again, Campbell declined.
There were apparently six teams that were interested in Campbell back in 2018
The NFL interest in Matt Campbell is clearly there. Scott Pioli’s past links to the Atlanta Falcons and to Campbell makes Campbell a very real replacement option for Dan Quinn. The Houston Texans and Detroit Lions are vacancies that are open, but Campbell’s name doesn’t currently appear to be a front runner for those.
This leaves potential vacancies as the most obvious opportunity. The Jacksonville Jaguars released general manager David Caldwell, and head coach Doug Marrone is expected to be relieved of his duty at the end of the year.
Additionally, as the New York Jets careen towards an 0-16 season, Adam Gase will surely be replaced. Campbell declined the Jets’ offer in 2019, but the opportunity to develop a team with so much NFL Draft talent would be enticing. They would fit his “recruit, retain, develop” mantra. If ever there was a team that requires a change in culture, it’s the Jets.
Although these options will be on the table, Tony Pauline doesn’t see Matt Campbell in the NFL. In his NFL Rumors and Draft News mailbag, Pauline noted that “people inside the league feel that [Campbell] doesn’t project well to the NFL. He’s too buddy-buddy with his players.”