Matt Campbell’s answer for why he passed on the Detroit Lions in 2021 comes down to the same thing that guided his move to Penn State: the fit had to be exact.
Speaking Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, the new Penn State head coach was asked about the decision that kept him in college football instead of heading to the NFL. Campbell didn’t dress it up. Leaving Iowa State was never going to be easy, and he made clear that if he was going to walk away from Ames, the destination had to line up with how he thinks a program should be built.
“I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish at Iowa State in our 10 years,” Campbell expressed. “Great players, great people, great community.
“And if we were ever going to leave Iowa State, it was going to have to be a school and an institution that really fit how I believe and what I believe, in how you build culture, how you build team, and how you build forward.”
That helps explain why the Lions job never became the move. In 2021, Detroit was still in the middle of a reset, with Matthew Stafford trying to get out after the end of the Matt Patricia era.
This was not the version of the Lions fans know now. The roster was so different that only Tom Kennedy and Jack Fox from that 2021 team are still with the organization today, and both are mostly special teams contributors.
Campbell also pointed to the pull of tradition when he talked about what drew him to Penn State. For him, the appeal wasn’t just about winning games. It was about a place where the jersey carries weight and the football program’s identity matches the values he wants around him.
“And I think that for the last six months, we’ve been reminded why it was such a great fit for us at Penn State. I think the history, what it means to play there, but how you do it, the integrity, the character in the class,” Campbell revealed.
“In its finest moments, what Penn State football has stood for really resonated with myself and certainly my background. So, it really had to be a perfect fit and that’s really why.”
The contrast with Detroit in 2021 is hard to miss. The Lions were still searching for direction, while college football gave Campbell a different kind of rebuilding job - one where the roster can turn over fast through the transfer portal, with more than 2,000 players becoming free agents every season. In the NFL, even with the practice squad, there are just over 2,000 players total in a season.
In the end, Detroit’s second choice, Dan Campbell, became the right man for the job. But Matt Campbell’s explanation finally puts a clear reason behind the “what if” that hung over his decision five years ago.
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