Penn State football: 5 replacements for James Franklin if he leaves for USC or LSU

Matt Campbell is the one Power Five head coach worth going all-in for here

This is the one you pay out the wazoo to get. As with Mark Stoops at Kentucky, Matt Campbell can stay at Iowa State and become a living legend like Gary Patterson at TCU and Bill Snyder at Kansas State. Campbell seems to have a great rapport with the athletic department at Ames. With Big 12 realignment coming, Iowa State has a shot to be the premier program in the new-look conference.

Of course, there are going to be bigger jobs that want him, too. Campbell has drawn interest from the NFL and other Big Ten teams could come knocking if the Nittany Lions do not pounce at the opportunity to get him. Do you want Campbell leading Michigan State, Nebraska or god forbid, Michigan? This is why you back up the BRINKS truck to get a coach like Campbell while you can.

In a way, this is reminiscent to what Franklin did at his previous post at Vanderbilt. He had the ‘Dores ranked! They don’t win SEC football games anymore. Prior to Campbell arriving at Iowa State, the Cyclones were Kansas Jayhawks bad. That is all you need to know about his coaching acumen. Campbell feels Big Ten and his lunchpail mentality would absolutely thrive at Penn State.

Moorhead work would out fine, but Campbell is a transcendent coaching talent worth pursuing.

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