The coaching carousel has been a wild one this season, but the dust is settling down. Programs have found hope in their new hires, who are completely changing the outlook for the near future. Kirk Herbstreit has found a favorite among these new faces.

Penn State’s search for its new HC has to be the wildest of all time. The Nittany Lions were among the first to fire their HC, and they are among the last to name a replacement. The Lions have named former Iowa State HC Matt Campbell to replace James Franklin’s legacy, and are paying him a whopping $70.5 million to do it. It’s the job that was among the best in the market, which is changing hands in the leadership after a long time. Kirk Herbstreit, however, is loving Campbell in PSU colors.

“Of all the hires during this coaching carousel, this is the best FIT! Congrats to Penn State on this hire,” he shared on X.

Campbell was formally introduced as Penn State’s HC on December 8, after bidding goodbye to an extremely long career at Iowa State. Stability was a big factor behind this hire, because Penn State wasn’t interested in the short term. The program wants to continue its trend of keeping coaches on for a long time with Matt Campbell, who signed an 8-year contract. He got the job not only because of his long stint at St. Ames, but also for the way he turned things around and maintained that improved state. He left Iowa State as one of its winningest coaches, with a 72-55 record.

Matt Campbell is a brilliant recruiter and has made a lot of success out of 3-star recruits. But at Penn State, Campbell will have access to some of the most elite talents in college football. The recruiting side of things should now begin to calm down as well, which had turned volatile with the prolonged absence of an HC. With bigger power comes great responsibilities for Campbell. He has to better Penn State’s recruiting and also take the Lions out of the losing slump they got into this year.

The jump to Penn State is a big one for Matt Campbell. He is not one of the flashier names that were once linked to the coaching search, hence the subdued celebration of his hiring. But Campbell has proven his worth in all the different avenues that come with coaching. One of them is building the staff around him, which has ensured consistent success for him at Iowa State. At State College, however, Matt Campbell has to decide the fate of an equally elite hire.

Matt Campbell to feature both Jon Heacock and Jim Knowles?

At Happy Valley, Campbell isn’t just getting the best players – he’s also getting the best staff. He gets to supervise the prowess of DC Jim Knowles, who is one of the best in the job. But Campbell has developed a knack for replacing assistants, having done so numerous times at Iowa State. He might be making some changes to the Penn State staff as well, especially the DC position. Reportedly, Campbell wants to hire ISU DC Jon Heacock to Penn State.

Neither the new HC nor Penn State athletics has implied what they’re planning to do with Knowles. But according to an insider, Campbell might be pulling off a really great move. According to Zach Seyko of Locked On Nittany Lions, Campbell might even move Knowles into another role to retain the genius defensive mind.

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“Both Knowles and Heacock could remain, offering Penn State a strong defensive staff. For Campbell, landing a top defensive mind is a significant asset,” Seyko said on the podcast.

According to the insider, Knowles could move to an associate head coach role. He can also be lured away to other head coach positions, but for now, he has stayed put. Knowles seemed to have a really good pairing with James Franklin before the season, who got him to Penn State from Ohio State. Matt Campbell sure has picked up an attractive roster and staff. Question is, how well will he be able to adapt to these high stakes as Nittany Lions’ HC?