Matt Campbell (American football coach)
Playing career
Campbell was born in Massillon, Ohio. His father Rick coached football at Jackson High School). Matt played football at rival Perry), which won three conference championships while he was on the team. Campbell initially attended the University of Pittsburgh on an athletic scholarship in 1998, but transferred to the University of Mount Union after a year. At Mount Union, Campbell played on the defensive line between 1999 and 2002. At Mount Union, Campbell played for head coach Larry Kehres, whose teams won three Division III championships during Campbell's career. Campbell himself was twice named to the College Football All-America Team and named Ohio Athletic Conference Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Coaching career
After college, Campbell stayed within Ohio and took a job as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green State University from 2003 to 2004. While at Bowling Green Scott Pioli, then the director of player personnel for the New England Patriots, offered Campbell an interview for a job at the team, but Campbell declined. Campbell returned to Mount Union for 2005–2006 as offensive coordinator; Mount Union won the Division III championship both years. Campbell then went back to Bowling Green for two years, first as offensive line coach (2007) and then as offensive line coach/run game coordinator (2008). The University of Toledo hired him as the run game coordinator for the 2009 season. This move reunited him with head coach Tim Beckman, defensive coordinator at Bowling Green during Campbell's first stint there.
Toledo
Toledo promoted Campbell to offensive coordinator in 2010. Toledo made Campbell the permanent head coach at the end of 2011 when Beckman departed for the University of Illinois. He was 32 years old and the youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Two weeks into the job, Toledo defeated Air Force in the Military Bowl. Reportedly Campbell passed on a chance to serve on Urban Meyer's staff at Ohio State University. Campbell coached four full seasons at Toledo: 2012–2015, amassing a record of 35–15. The 2015 team peaked at No. 19 in the AP Poll, including a victory over Arkansas.
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