Who Hired Better: Penn State With Matt Campbell or Virginia Tech With James Franklin?

So who hired better? Penn State in landing Matt Campbell, or Virginia Tech in getting James Franklin? It's a comparison the national media naturally are making as spring practice begins across college football.

Campbell outperformed Franklin in The Athletic's most recent college football power rankings, coming in at No. 11, three spots ahead of Franklin (14th). Both coaches fell out of the top 10 (Franklin was eighth last season, Campbell ninth) but retained their spots in the top 15.

The reason Franklin fell further than Campbell? Penn State, of course, fired Franklin six games into a season that began with national championship hopes and derailed with a trio of Big Ten losses to Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern.

Campbell, meanwhile, was given more benefit of the doubt in 2025, when Iowa State went 8-4 despite a plague of injuries that throttled its defense. The Athletic framed its rankings of Campbell and Franklin largely to that view: Campbell overperformed the past few years at Iowa State, while Franklin underperformed.

Thus, Penn State is viewed as getting lucky that Campbell was available in December, when its "mismanaged" coaching search was 50+ days old. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech is perceived to have hit a jackpot with Franklin, who merely needed a fresh start after his 12 years at Penn State had become stagnant.

Because of those twin perspectives, Penn State and Virginia Tech earned kudos for their work. The Athletic polled college football coaches about the best offseason hires. Michigan won with Kyle Whittingham, but Penn State and Virginia Tech received raves as well.

According to The Athletic's survey, one assistant coach said Campbell is a culture-builder (which Penn State players already have discussed) and will do better with more resources. Another assistant said Franklin was the best hire because he will immediately and substantially upgrade Virginia Tech's recruiting platform. He already is challenging some of Penn State's recruiting territory.

So who hired better? It's a complicated question of fit.

Why Matt Campbell is the better hire

Penn State Nittany Lions football coach Matt Campbell speaks at a press conference at Beaver Stadium. | Mark Wogenrich/Penn State on SI

Campbell and Penn State seem so perfect for each other, it's still difficult to comprehend why their meet-cute didn't happen earlier. But when it finally did, Penn State exhaled deeply.

"Matt Campbell is Penn State," Athletic Director Pat Kraft said. "Hard-nosed, humble, relentless, a developer of young men, and he's built for championships. He embraces our expectations not as pressure but as a privilege, and with him Penn State football enters a new era of toughness,
discipline, accountability, and identity."

That's a crushing load of expectations, which Campbell seems to be embracing so far. He dived straight into Penn State's football history, seeking to meet the program's past rather than vice versa. Campbell organized Zoom calls with lettermen and showed his players videos of Penn State football history, notably the inspiring story of Wally Triplett.

Long-time staffers have been impressed with Campbell's desire to learn about the program and relay it to players, notably the 55 newcomers. Campbell also organized "accountability teams" to bring returning and new players together while instilling his culture.

Which is all good for the offseason, but Campbell can coach, too. College football analyst Matt Millen is a long-time fan of Campbell's who detailed his two key traits.

"Matt can walk into any town with his baseball hat on and have a conversation with anybody about football or anything about life in general," Millen said. "Matt is just so down to earth. That's the first part. That's the first piece about about him that I really loved. He's just a regular guy.

"The second thing is, his Xs and Os are really good, and he knows how to develop kids. And so he's going to get a higher-grade kid now [at Penn State], but he just has a way of developing guys. He can take players from A to B and elevate them, which is not easy to do. Some guys have it, some guys don't. He does."

Campbell's first roster is loaded with Iowa State veterans that could capitalize on a friendly schedule and make a playoff run in 2026. The question beyond that is, does Campbell have the elite recruiting and development skills and staff to win the title that Franklin couldn't?

Why James Franklin is the better hire

Virginia Tech football coach James Franklin speaks to fans on the sideline before the game at Lane Stadium. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

The Athletic's Stewart Mandel gave Virginia Tech a B+ for hiring Franklin (same for Penn State and Campbell). Mandel called Virginia Tech an "ideal landing spot" for Franklin to depressurize after last year at Penn State. The Hokies, however, positioned Franklin's hiring as the start of something big.

"Virginia Tech and coach Franklin both have something to prove to the entire country," Athletic Director Whit Babcock said, "and we will do it all together."

Franklin made a quick impact on Virginia Tech's roster, signing 49 players via the portal and recruiting for an overall team ranking of 23rd nationall, according to 247Sports. Penn State ranks 43rd. The Hokies should be better immediately.

Franklin recruited who he knows, bringing multiple players and recruits from Penn State, notably quarterbacks Ethan Grunkemeyer and incoming freshman Troy Huhn. Franklin also got the band back together on his staff.

More than a dozen Virginia Tech coaches and staff members worked with Franklin at Penn State. That includes defensive coordinator Brent Pry, Virginia Tech's former head coach.

The ultimate test of who hired better might come down to which coach assimilates his imported culture and coaching systems more quickly and effectively. Campbell and Franklin already have proven themselves as builders. Now, can they upgrade programs with different expectations but similar desires simply to be better?

Penn State Nittany Lions football coach Matt Campbell and Athletic Director Pat Kraft pose for a photo with a jersey. — Penn State Nittany Lions football coach Matt Campbell, left, and Athletic Director Pat Kraft pose for a photo at a press conference at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

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