Florida Football: 5 candidates to replace Jim McElwain as head coach

What Matt Campbell has done at Iowa State is going to earn him a lot of calls this offseason as programs look for a guy who can rebuild effectively. Campbell turned around a Cyclones program that has suffered the longest active conference title drought among FBS schools. After taking down Oklahoma and TCU from the ranks of the unbeaten in October, Campbell’s name is launching up coaching candidate lists.

Like Babers, Campbell got his FBS head coaching start in the MAC. Before arriving in Ames, Campbell led Toledo to a trio of nine-win seasons in his four years patrolling the sidelines at the Glass Bowl. In his last two years with the Rockets, Campbell took them to the MAC title game in 2014 and 2015.

That record earned him a chance to take over an Iowa State program that hasn’t gone bowling since 2012. His first year at the helm went about as well as could be expected, as the Cyclones finished 3-9. But there were signs that things were turning around in Ames, as Iowa State nearly pulled off upsets of Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State along the way.

That momentum has paid off in 2017, as the Cyclones are now bowl eligible before the month of November and sitting atop the Big 12 standings. Having proven that he can achieve results at lower-tier programs, Campbell could reenergize one of the sleeping giants of college football if Florida decides to take a chance on him.