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By Michael Gallagher
Sports Content Coordinator
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After nearly two months of looking for James Franklin’s successor, the Penn State Nittany Lions finally locked up a new head coach, signing former Iowa State HC Matt Campbell to an eight-year contract.
The deal ends weeks of flirtation between the school and several big-name candidates including BYU’s Kalani Sitake, Louisville’s Brian Brohm, and newly hired Kentucky head coach Will Stein plus rumored connections to Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer and ex-New York Giants coach Brian Daboll.
Somewhat lost in the shuffle is the fact that associate head coach/running backs coach Terry Smith, who went 3-3 in six games as interim head coach after Franklin was fired on Oct. 12, also interviewed for the job but didn’t get it.
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But that doesn’t mean Smith is going anywhere.
On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Smith is staying on staff under Campbell, and according to a report from noted NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Penn State is set to make Smith the highest-paid non-coordinator in college football.
Financials of Smith’s new deals aren’t known at this time, but it’s been speculated to be $2 million per year or more.
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Smith had growing support among the Nittany Lions players to get the head-coaching job permanently. Players even held up signs that read “Hire Terry Smith” during the team’s game against Rutgers.
Given how well-liked he is among student-athletes and the head-coaching interest he had from UConn and Memphis, retaining Smith was big for PSU, even if it isn’t in the role he was hoping.
“No one knows Penn State better than me,” Smith said two weeks ago. “Of all the candidates that are out there, I know the history of Penn State. I know the culture, the DNA. I know the locker room. I know administration. I think I’m a good leader, I think I’m a leader of men.”
Among Smith’s top accomplishments after stepping in for Franklin was keeping four-star quarterback commit Peyton Falzone and four-star defensive lineman commit Jackson Ford from flipping to other schools.
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