College Football Coaching Changes: Ranking the best hires

Dec 1, 2015; Ames, IA, USA; against the Iowa State Cyclones new head football coach Matt Campbell address the fans at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

4. Iowa State – Matt Campbell replaces Paul Rhoads

Paul Rhoads couldn’t do much in his time in Ames, and while it’s a very difficult program to have consistent success, three-win seasons just aren’t good enough. Campbell leaves Toledo where he went 35-15, including a share of two MAC division titles in the last two years and inherits a job that will test him to maintain his career winning percentage.

Campbell, 36, won’t win nine games a year like he did at Toledo, but he can pluck some recruits from Ohio and get them to Ames and build that program to get back to six-win seasons and bowl games. You have to measure progress differently for places like Iowa State vs. programs like Georgia, Miami or USC, but I think Campbell can win six games, which is huge for the Cyclones.

Once Campbell gets a couple of recruiting classes coming in and gets some experienced players on his roster, Iowa State can be a sneaky team in the Big 12 and if they get a manageable non-conference schedule can challenge for seven or eight-win seasons on occasion.

Next: Dino Babers