Kirk Herbstreit calls new head coach the ‘best fit’ of the coaching carousel

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit smiles prior to a game | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

If you stopped reading this website for even one day during the 2025 college football season, you likely missed major coaching news. Either someone gettin' fired or gettin' hired. But now that the dust is pretty much settled on an absurd spin of the coaching carousel this fall, Kirk Herbstreit idenfitied which new hrie he views as the best fit.

Undoubtedly, LSU came away winners of the coaching carousel on paper. The Bayou ridded itself of an unfit poser in Brian Kelly to replace him with Lane Kiffin, who was widely viewed as the most coveted coaching option in the country not named Curt Cignetti. As great as that hire was, Herbstreit actually picked a hire that took quite a bit of time: Penn State and Matt Campbell.

"Of all the hires during this coaching carousel this is the best FIT!" Hersbtreit screamed from the rooftop of his X account. "Congrats to Penn State on this hire." Take a gander:

Of all the hires during this coaching carousel this is the best FIT!
Congrats to Penn State on this hire. https://t.co/X9mlkn9b0D

— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) December 8, 2025

Penn State coaching search was a wild ride

Penn State's search ended, at last, following nearly two straight months of chaos. Athletic director Pat Kraft received a horde of praise for pulling the trigger on James Franklin's firing following the two-loss start to Big Ten play that was wholly unacceptable. But Penn State certainly didn't execute a clean investigation for their next program leader after that.

Almost too many names to monitor came and went as either sourced candidates, rumored possibilities, or options on various betting markets. Either way, Penn State certainly missed on several top options, earning extensions for several.

College football head coach Matt Campbell | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

In that department, Curt Cignetti and Matt Rhule stick out. Cignetti was an obvious first call but Indiana didn't even allow his name to escape Pat Kraft's mouth before he was set with a $93 million extension. Rhule also received a pay bump to stay at Nebraska as soon as Penn St. rumors kicked up. More recently, Penn State made a big push for Kalani Sitake, but BYU boosters and fans publicly rallied to tie down their Tongan war general in Provo.

All those missed swings ultimately turned into what Kirk Herbstreit would consider a home run, though. It may have taken a while to get to Matt Campbell, but Herbtrseit certainly thinks the scenic route was the right call here, because a no-nonsense program-builder and excellent ball coach in Campbell is now heading up the Nittany Lion program.