While Iowa State’s Matt Campbell may not have been selected as the next head coach of the Chicago Bears, his name remains a popular one in NFL coaching searches.
One person advocating for Cambell to get a shot in the NFL is On3’s Andy Staples, who discussed the topic at length in a recent YouTube video with Heartland College Sports’ Pete Mundo.
“I think Matt Campbell is the type of college coach to hire if you’re an NFL team looking for that,” Staples said. “That’s who you should be looking for because a lot of these very successful college coaches are successful because they get the best players every year, and they beat people over the head with an abundance of talent. You don’t have that talent gap in the NFL. Matt Campbell almost always plays at a talent disadvantage.”
Campbell has spent the previous nine seasons in Ames, compiling an overall record of 64-51 with a conference record of 45-36. Throughout his time with the program, his highest-ranked recruiting class in the stretch came in 2020 at No. 49, seven places ahead of his nine-year class average at No. 56.
“Look at his record,” Staples continued. “I don’t have it in front of me, but look at his record relative to the previous four coaches at Iowa State. It’s incredible. The fact that he does this with a talent disadvantage almost every time. That’s what you would want if you’re an NFL team.”
Staples finished his thought by saying, “He can take his and beat yours, or he can take yours and beat yours. I don’t know that some of these coaches who just accumulate talent can do that necessarily. I know Matt Campbell can do that.”
