"Not Used to the Hammering": Urban Meyer Admits Concern Over James Franklin's $8M Penn State Successor

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Former OSU head coach Urban Meyer believes Matt Campbell can coach football. What worries him is everything that comes with coaching at Penn State. The standards are far greater than anything Campbell had at Iowa State.

Speaking on the July 1 Triple Option podcast, Meyer shared his thoughts after Campbell accepted Penn State’s reported eight-year deal worth about $8 million per year. “Matt Campbell, who’s been a friend of mine for many years, took a big step from Iowa State to Penn State,” Meyer said. “Again, he’s not used to the hammering that you’re going to take if you stumble.”

That “hammering” is very different from what Campbell experienced at Iowa State. At Penn State, fans expect playoff runs almost every season. James Franklin learned how quickly people forget success when they lose big games. Campbell now finds himself in the same spotlight.

“The question I have, I’ve actually asked Jay Paterno because he’d been to practice. He admires Coach Campbell. Can he do better than James Franklin? Because James Franklin won a lot of games there,” Meyer further said.

Despite Franklin getting fired from Penn State, he still built a dominant program. He won the Big 10 championship (2016) for the first time since 1994. Not just that, his 104-45 overall record with a 69% win rate will be the ceiling for Campbell to follow in Happy Valley. Beyond that, Penn State became an elite NFL pipeline, attracting top recruits and producing consistent top-10 recruiting classes. That blueprint is what Campbell will have at Penn State.

Campbell, however, has spent most of his career proving people wrong. When he arrived in Toledo in 2011, he took over a solid program and led it to a 35-15 record over four seasons. He then accepted one of the hardest jobs in Power Four football. Iowa State had rarely competed for conference championships. Campbell slowly changed that picture. His teams reached multiple bowl games, played in two Big 12 title games, and won the 2020 Fiesta Bowl.

Along the way, he became the winningest football coach in school history. Those achievements came despite recruiting disadvantages against schools like Oklahoma and Texas. They also came after repeated years of handling rumors linking him to bigger jobs. One reason Campbell survived those challenges is his coaching philosophy.

Throughout his stops, he has spoken about building culture before chasing wins. He regularly tells players to “trust the process” and to focus on daily improvement rather than outside noise. The results of his philosophy were evident in his historic 2024 season, as he beat Miami in the bowl game and posted an 11-3 record.

Meyer’s comments are based on personal knowledge. The two Ohio natives have known each other for years through the coaching profession. Meyer has publicly praised Campbell’s ability to develop players and build programs. Moreover, Penn State’s leadership believes Campbell is ready for that challenge. Athletic director Pat Kraft called him the right leader at the right time and praised both his football record and character after finalizing the hire.

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