NY Jets: Matt Campbell not expected to interview with the team

The NY Jets are not expected to interview Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell.

The NY Jets have reached out to their fair share of potential head coach candidates this offseason. And one individual they’ve been heavily tied to is Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell.

Campbell has been connected to the Jets quite a bit over the past few weeks and months with some rumors even speculating that he could be one of the favorites. Unfortunately, those fans holding out hope for a Campbell interview probably shouldn’t hold their breath.

National college football reporter Bruce Feldman reported on Saturday that despite the speculation, Campbell is not expected to interview for the Jets position. This means it wouldn’t be wise to expect him in New York this offseason.

While other reports have come out stating the opposite — most notably from the likes of Jason La Canfora and Aaron Wilson — Feldman is certainly the most reputable of them all so it’s probably safer to trust his report.

Campbell was reportedly a target of the Jets two years ago prior to the hiring of Adam Gase. However, the Iowa State coach declined to interview with the organization instead opting to stay in Ames.

In hindsight, it’s hard to say he made the wrong choice.

The NY Jets have seen Matt Campbell succeed at Iowa State over the last two years

Campbell continued his immense success at Iowa State being named the 2020 Big 12 Coach of the Year — the third time he had won such an award. He previously received the honor in 2017 and 2018 as well, two of his first three seasons with the program.

Prior to Campbell’s hire, Iowa State had just one winning season in the past decade. But in the years under his guidance, they’ve put together four consecutive winning seasons which culminated in their best season this past year.

The Cyclones finished 9-3 which included a victory over Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl, a Big 12 title victory, and the highest-ranking in their 126-year program history — No. 6 in the AP polls.

Campbell has completely turned the Iowa State program around and has been near-universally praised for his leadership, winning mentality, and intelligent offensive mind.

Essentially, he would have been an ideal candidate for the Jets. But alas, it doesn’t look like it was meant to be.

It was always going to take a lot of convincing to persuade Campbell to make the jump to the pros. Some have speculated that it would require a near-perfect situation to get Campbell away from Iowa State.

The Jets, for as appealing as their job might be, don’t offer that “near-perfect situation” for Campbell.

As such, it looks like he’ll be opting for Ames, Iowa over the beauty that is East Rutherford, New Jersey.