Urban Meyer and 5 likely candidates to replace Tom Herman at Texas

3. Matt Campbell, Iowa State Head Coach

If Texas looks to replace Herman, maybe they’ll look no further than the opposite sideline at Darrell Royal Stadium on Friday. Campbell has the Cyclones at 7-2 this year, with wins over Oklahoma and Texas to make a Big 12 Championship Game berth a mere formality.

Campbell will have some options if he wants to leave Ames, from Michigan if Jim Harbaugh is gone to the NFL if teams want to make another run at him. Where Texas might fit on his radar if it were open is unclear. Though he did offer a window into what he thought about the Longhorns (or probably more specifically Herman) after Iowa State’s second straight win in the series, with a “we’re not a five-star factory” comment.

Campbell is building something of his own at Iowa State, from 3-9 in his first season to a conference title game looming in his fifth (30-18 over the last four seasons now). Including his time at Toledo, he has a .618 winning percentage as head coach (68-42).

Texas once would have been a huge step up in job for a rising coach like Campbell. Now, it might be more of a lateral move for him based on what he’s doing at Iowa State (which shows no signs of slowing down). And if it comes down to it, his Ohio roots may lead him to prefer Michigan over Texas if both jobs were open and all things were equal.

That said, Del Conte should be making a list of candidates to replace Herman and Campbell’s name should be toward the top. Simple due diligence says to at least make Campbell turn down an interview.