Matt Campbell Outlines Why He’s Planted His Roots at Iowa State
It seems that everytime a football season rolls over into an offseason, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell has his name show up on short lists across the country.
After the incredible work that he’s done in Ames, there’s plenty of evidence to support the idea that he’s one of the best program builders in all of college football, and that makes him a hot commodity every time a major coaching search begins.
However, year after year, Campbell stays in place with the Cyclones and gets them back to another bowl game, something that was a far-fetched idea at ISU in the years leading up to his tenure.
In an exclusive interview with CBS Sports’ Josh Pate, Campbell delved into what has made Ames his home and why he continually turns down opportunities that many outside of his program would constitute as “better.” To him, there’s not a better place to be than where he is right now.
“I’ve been that guy where it’s, ‘Jeez, should I be climbing this ladder of job to job?’ at a really young age,” Campbell started. “To when we got to Iowa State, we’ve been able to build something different. I know, fo me, leaving Toledo was really hard to be quite honest.
“My wife and I had never left Ohio, and at that time with three kids and a fourth on the way. We had grandparents and family that were anchors to us, and it was really hard for us to leave. That was the first time I said, ‘Jeez, I don’t know if this is what I want to do. I want to be able to lay roots and build something different and something that’s really special and that can stand for something.”
Campbell explained that planting roots and building something from the ground up, like he’s done at Iowa State, has given him a gratitude that he otherwise wouldn’t have.
“I think that’s the one gratitude that I have for being the head coach. I walk in here every day, and I’m beyond grateful to be the head coach at Iowa State,” Campbell said. “We’ve been able to build a program and build a program that I really believe stands for something. On top of that, as we’ve had our successes and some of that outside noise has come in, I’ve always gone back to the checklist…”
His checklist, which consists of three items, outlines the main reasons why it would be very hard to pry Campbell away from Iowa State.
“No. 1, I want to be a great father. I want to be a great husband. I never want to let the profession ruin what’s most important to me, and that’s my family,” Campbell said. “No. 2, I want to work for great people and with great people, and I think I’m really fortunate that we’ve got great trust within our athletic department, administration, and the coaching staff here. That’s been really important, and it’s a joy to come in every day and work with people that are aligned to the same vision.
Campbell, who is well known for being beloved by his players, finishes his checklist by explaining the importance that he places on not only building a program but being a coach that his players can trust to support them through their journey.
“The third part of it, which is probably the most important part is what do you stand for in this profession? I think for me, it’s been that I wanted to build something where young people feel confident and feel trusted when they come into our football program. That they can go through this profound transition that they’re going through in life. They’re 18 years old and leaving home for the first time. They’re getting into this uber-competitive environment, and then, all of a sudden, you want that support. You want that trust that your coach is going to be there and that these people are going to be there and that you’re building something that is going to support this journey that should change your life forever if it’s done correctly.
“I think that’s something that we’re really proud of because we’ve been able to build that kind of football program here.”
