CFB Coach Says He Accepted Lions HC Contract Offer in 2021, Changed Mind Before Dan Campbell Hire

Matt Campbell took over as the head coach at Penn State this season, setting him up to lead the Nittany Lions, but it was a different group of Lions that almost swayed him in 2021.

According to ESPN's Jake Trotter, "Campbell initially agreed to coach the Detroit Lions before changing his mind; the Lions hired Dan Campbell instead."

The deal at the time was reportedly worth $68.5 million over eight years:

"Leaving Ames wasn't something that I was looking to do or wanting to do," Campbell told Trotter regarding his decision to stay with Iowa State at the time rather than take the gig with the Lions.

Instead, the Lions went with Dan Campbell, and it's hard to imagine they regret that decision—he's 48-36-1 as the head coach with two playoff appearances. Even he joked about Detroit's initial interest in Matt Campbell.

"Just in regards to the head coach search, how I ended up here, one of things would be that I told my agent, Rick Smith, I said make sure that they think I'm Matt Campbell, so I think that's how this has really worked out great for me," he joked with reporters back in 2021. "So now that I'm in the seat, I am Dan Campbell. But I do know this, you can't go wrong with a Campbell."

As for Matt Campbell, he led Iowa State to a 72-55 record in 10 seasons. Now he'll lead a Penn State program that was successful during the James Franklin era but could never quite get over the hump or beat top teams.