Texas Football: 3 HC candidates the Horns would love to get for 2021

2) HC candidates Texas football fans would love in 2021

Matt Campbell, Iowa State Head Coach

An obvious coaching candidate for most of the fall when Herman’s seat really started to heat up in late October and early November was the rising star of an Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell. If he’s ready to cash in while his stock is high around the college football coaching landscape right now, Campbell could very well take his talents to a blue blood program during the 2021 offseason.

For the first time in program history, Iowa State made an appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game this fall. Iowa State was able to also beat both the Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners in the same year for the first time in program history. Beating Texas and Oklahoma in the same season, when both are bona fide top 25 teams, is a big deal.

Iowa State also came one or two possessions shy of beating Oklahoma and head coach Lincoln Riley in the Big 12 Title Game back on Dec. 19. And he led the Clones to sport a record of 8-3 (8-2 Big 12), just ahead of their PlayStation Fiesta Bowl showdown against the PAC-12 Championship Game winner Oregon Ducks and head coach Mario Cristobal.

During his five years as Iowa State’s head coach, Campbell kept bringing the program to greater and greater heights. He’s registered a record of 34-28 (.548 winning percentage) during his five seasons in Ames. And he’s got this Iowa State program to the heights of being ranked inside the top 25 of the preseason AP Poll in each of the last two years.