The 2026 football season is only weeks away, and Penn State will look significantly different than it did against Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl.
The Matt Campbell era begins against Marshall Sept. 5 at Beaver Stadium, as the program looks to regain its national power status.
Before the season kicks off, The Athletic ranked nearly every FBS head coach and slotted them into eight separate tiers.
Only Indiana’s Curt Cignetti and Georgia’s Kirby Smart occupy the first tier, dubbed “The Standard.”
10 coaches, including James Franklin, make up Tier 2: Established Winners. Ryan Day (Ohio State), Dan Lanning (Oregon), and Kyle Whittingham (Michigan) represent the conference in this classification.
Where’s Campbell? The Athletic slotted PSU’s head coach in Tier 3: Consistency with Upside.
Campbell is one of 23 coaches in this tier, including Bret Bielema (Illinois), Bob Chesney (UCLA), Kirk Ferentz (Iowa), P.J. Fleck (Minnesota), and Lincoln Riley (USC).
The coaches were not ranked in order of best to worst, but listed alphabetically in each tier.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The story, written by senior writer Chris Vannini, notes how Campbell will need to live up to high expectations and pressure set by Franklin.
Campbell guided Iowa State to a 72-55 record over 10 years in some of the most successful seasons in program history.
Vannini consulted with coaches, administrators, agents, and search firms for the story. One agent told The Athletic: “I’m really bullish on Matt Campbell this year. It’s a fascinating story to see how Penn State does.”
At least 12 coaches ranked ahead of Campbell before landing in the third tier, including four in the Big Ten.
PSU ranked No. 18 in the first AP Poll of 2026, which came out this week.
There’s no denying the pressure on Campbell to revitalize the program following a 7-6 season filled with disappointment, Franklin’s firing, Drew Allar’s season-ending injury, and missing out on the College Football Playoff after being preseason No. 2.
