Mount Union Legend Larry Kehres Details Matt Campbell's Rise to Penn State

STATE COLLEGE | Matt Campbell, Penn State’s new head football coach, derived his core values from lessons he learned from Larry Kehres, the coach with the highest winning percentage in college football history. Kehres spent 27 seasons at Mount Union, winning 11 national titles, and he coached Campbell from 1999-2002. During that stretch, Mount Union won three Division III national championships and went 54-1 over a three-year span.

“Everybody was trying to figure out, man, what’s going on at Mount Union? Why is there all this success?” Campbell said during his introductory press conference. “But nobody could figure out there was only one sign, and it said this: ‘Faith, Family, Football.’ He ingrained it into us every step of the way, and it’s allowed me to live my life the right way. And I’m really grateful for him.”

After graduating from Mount Union, Campbell was a graduate assistant at Bowling Green before returning to his alma mater as offensive coordinator in 2005. But Campbell isn’t the only successful coach from Kehres’ Mount Union rosters and staff.

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and new Connecticut coach Jason Candle, who replaced Campbell at Toledo in 2016, were on Mount Union staffs that won two national championships. In an interview, Kehres reflected on having those three coaches on his staff.

“They were learning what we as a coaching staff needed to do for our team to be the ultimate in success, to win all the playoff games,” Kehres said after Campbell was introduced at Penn State. “They were experiencing success and they were contributing to success as players and coaches. … It’s not shocking that they understand what it takes to be successful.”

Kehres said the learning started while all three were players at Mount Union. Earlier this week, Sirianni joked that they left Mount Union with “a doctorate degree of football coaching” from Kehres, and Campbell echoed that sentiment.

“The great gift me and Nick both had was this opportunity to go back as coaches,” Campbell said. “Because it’s one thing as a player, but then when you go back as the coach, and you’re almost getting your doctorate in, this is why this program was built and how it was built, and then go carry this forward. We’re really grateful, and it was really powerful and we wouldn’t be where we’re at without those experiences.”

Matt Campbell's roots at Mount Union

Former Mount Union football head coach Larry Kehres speaks to several recruits before a Mount Union game. | Ed Hall Jr. / Special to The Alliance Review / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Faith, family and football are three words that shaped the foundation of Campbell’s career. Kehres was committed to teaching those around him that football is not everything.

“If you can get a value-oriented base into your life through your faith, then whatever career you pick, you’ve always got a foundation,” Kehres said. “I wanted them to learn that I always included the coaches’ families in many of the things that we did, like going to the national championship.

“…. Even though it was a little difficult to have the children and people there, and it could get, you know, I’d have to take a deep breath and wonder if this was the right thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. To try and impress upon them through the example I set that you can’t make a mistake with your family because of what you’re doing with football.”

Family has always been important to Campbell. Deciding to leave Toledo after four seasons for Iowa State was difficult, as was leaving Penn State. Campbell called the decision “at times paralyzingly hard to make.”

He cited examples of faith, family and football as why Penn State felt like the right fit. At Penn State, Campbell is significantly closer to Massillon, Ohio, where he grew up. While he has no direct ties to Penn State, he has a strong understanding of its history.

“As important as football is, as important as it can be, it’s got its place in the pecking order,” Kehres said.

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At Iowa State, Campbell built a program from the ground up to establish a winning culture while developing relationships that were hard to leave. After telling his Iowa State players last Friday that he was leaving, Campbell stayed in his office until 2 a.m. to meet with them individually.

“He brought the staff and the players to Iowa State and they developed into a successful group, and I think they likely became very loyal to one another,” Kehres said. “That works across the board player to player, but it also works up and down from player to coach.”

Campbell grew emotional talking about those at Iowa State he left.

“One of the hardest moments of my life was Friday night to walk in and to leave so many of our great young men that believed in me, believed in our coaches, and that signed up to be a part of our great program,” Campbell said.

Campbell has been offered jobs in the past but remained committed to Iowa State and the roots he anchored in Ames. He said he was close to leaving twice before but didn’t – until Penn State made its offer.

“He’s not trying to build a one-year relationship with folks,” Kehres said. “He’s trying to build up a sustainable, this-will-last-through-time relationship with players and assistant coaches. Even though we all move on, it doesn't mean that we don’t still relate to one another and share pictures of kids and those types of things. That type of relationship, Matt’s good at building.”

Campbell said he planned to spend his first week on campus meeting with every member of the current Penn State roster and coaching staff. He’s starting to build new relationships and another foundation at a place that craves championships. It’s an opportunity for Campbell to continue growing in his career that started with Kehres.

“His ability to give us opportunities to grow as coaches, make mistakes and fail at times and yet get better was so rewarding,” Campbell said. “Coach Kehres certainly doesn’t get the credit, but what that man has accomplished, nobody has accomplished in the sport of football and to be able to make everybody else around him better was humbling.”

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Matt Campbell's roots at Mount Union

Creating lasting relationships

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