Iowa State hires Toledo’s Matt Campbell as new head coach

The Iowa State Cyclones name Toledo Rockets coach Matt Campbell to the same position to replace Paul Rhoads.

Matt Campbell is expected to be named the next head coach at Iowa State, according to a report from Thayer Evans and Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated.

Update: Campbell has been named the new head coach at Iowa State, according to Nick Piotrowicz of The Blade after he turned down an offer by Toledo that would have made him the highest paid coach in the MAC. But his offer from Iowa State was significantly higher.

Campbell, 35, led Toledo to a share of the MAC West title but won’t play in the MAC Championship Game after losing to Western Michigan on Friday. That looks like it’ll be the last game for the Ohio native who took over the Rockets in their bowl game in 2011 when Tim Beckman left Toledo to take the head coaching job with the Illinois Fighting Illini.

According to the report from SI, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard is expected to make an announcement in the next 48 hours and interviews with other candidates have been cancelled.

Campbell went 35-15 in four seasons with Toledo.

Iowa State fired Paul Rhoads after blowing a big lead and losing to Kansas State last week but let him coach in the season finale against West Virginia and lost to drop his career record to 32-54 in seven seasons in Ames.

Campbell is taking on one of the toughest jobs in the country, so this won’t be a quick fix, but at 35-years-old, Campbell should bring some youthful excitement and optimism to a program desperately in need of a long-term solution.

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Iowa State won’t even be a program that’s winning nine and 10 games every year, but if Campbell is able to pluck some recruits out of the state of Ohio and establish an identity, there’s no reason to think they can’t consistently compete for bowl bids.