When Penn State fired James Franklin, many fans thought the season was finished. Then Terry Smith stepped in and quickly steadied the program, earning strong support from both players and fans. Even though many wanted Smith to stay on full-time, PSU hired Matt Campbell with a $70.5 m contract instead. Campbell brought several staffers from Iowa State with him. But he still made sure to recognize Smith’s impact and plans to keep him on staff moving forward.

“I thought it was monumental to be honest with you what Terry is about, what he has stood for,” Campbell said on the December 23rd Zoom press conference. “I mean, what he sacrificed for this university as a player, as an assistant coach, and you certainly see what he has stood up and how he’s led this football program in our last six football games has been incredible.

And there would be nobody greater for me to be able to link arms with and be able to lead the future of this program with. And so the fact that it worked out is an absolute blessing. We’re really grateful to be able to be great partners in this moving forward.”

This move felt inevitable once you saw the army Matt Campbell brought with him from Iowa State. He stacked his staff with familiar faces on both sides of the ball and filled key off-field roles as well. With that much Cyclones DNA in Happy Valley, keeping Terry Smith could’ve easily become a tough call, both financially and from a decision-making standpoint. But Smith had earned his place.

As Penn State’s cornerbacks coach since 2014, he has helped develop seven NFL draft picks. It was tied for the most in the country over that span. He’s also one of the Big Ten’s top recruiters, ranked No. 4 in 2023 by 247Sports, and played a major role in PSU landing 12 straight top-25 recruiting classes. When James Franklin left, Smith took over a team sitting at 3–3 and riding a four-game losing streak. He steadied the ship, picked up his first win against Michigan State, and guided Penn State to a 6–6 finish and a Pinstripe Bowl matchup with Clemson.

An alum who played under Joe Paterno, Smith connected with players and fans by pushing a tough, family-first culture. He was the only Penn State letterman on Franklin’s original staff. So he leaned on Franklin as a mentor while navigating his first head coaching stint. On top of that, Campbell and Smith go way back. It dates back 15 years, to Campbell’s Toledo days. So he knows exactly what Smith brings to the table.

Terry Smith to the rescue

Head coach or not, Terry Smith clearly knows how to run the Nittany Lions. Even with Matt Campbell taking over playcalling duties, Smith has stayed locked into his role and handled it well. His public praise of player leadership directly pushes back against King Mack’s blunt comments about a “lack of leadership” during the 2025 collapse. By calling out Mack, Anthony Donkoh, and Tony Rojas as “model leaders,” Smith flips the narrative.

He turns the criticism of the culture into a solution. The real trouble started when a leaked video of AD Patrick Kraft sent shockwaves through the locker room, exposing tension behind the scenes. Smith’s message that “your best teams are always player-led” reframes that chaos, portraying it as a leadership breakdown that is not permanent. It’s something veterans can fix. That mindset significantly eased the pressure on Campbell, who walked into a program still recovering from a storm.

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That optimism helps Kraft, too. He went from privately telling players his job depended on the hire to publicly taking heat once the audio surfaced. Smith’s confidence in the locker room leadership signals that the team is willing to give Campbell a fair chance. At the end of the day, Smith positions himself as the bridge between a painful past and Campbell’s culture reset.