The 2025 coaching carousel proved to be among the craziest in recent memory. That was particularly true in the Big Ten, where several massive names were on the move. That included Matt Campbell going to Penn State and Pat Fitzgerald going to Michigan State.

College football analyst Joey Galloway praised those hires on his show, Nonstop. In particular, how they could now stand to elevate the Big Ten as a whole.

“I think two of the Big Ten teams made terrific coaching hires,” Joey Galloway said. “I think Penn State made a terrific coaching hire. Just right when everybody was starting to laugh. Like, oh my gosh. They screwed this thing up. They blew it. It’s terrible. Then, they get Matt Campbell. I mean, that is a great hire for them. Pat Fitzgerald is a great hire for Michigan State.”

Matt Campbell is coming to Penn State from Iowa State. For the last decade, he helped to elevate that program, going 72-55 there. Now, he’s hoping to take a Penn State team that found success under James Franklin to a championship level.

Pat Fitzgerald, meanwhile, spent 110-101 over the course of 17 seasons at Northwestern. However, his time would end in scandal. Now cleared from that investigation, he was available to take a new job and now it’s on him to rebuild what has been a struggling Michigan State program.

All of this makes Joey Galloway excited for the future of the Big Ten. If Campbell and Fitzgerald can elevate those programs, along with teams like Indiana rising, then the Big Ten could have depth comparable to the SEC instead of just the talent at the top that is similar to the SEC.

“I think that the Big Ten, and you talk about depth, and early in the year we had a conversation whether the Big Ten was closer to the SEC or closer to the ACC. It’s the depth that you need in your conference to start being in the same conversation, on the same level as the SEC. When you make those kinds of coaching hires, that is putting your team in a position to add that depth. It’s crazy to think that Indiana could be better this season than they were last season,” Galloway said.

“Because last season was, oh my gosh. Look at what [Curt] Cignetti‘s done. It was sort of like a story that needed a backup. It needed another year. It needs another year after this to really be in that conversation of they are one of the teams in the Big Ten that is going to add that depth and add to the strength of the conference, because you already have Oregon, gonna be good, year in and year out. Coach [Dan] Lanning does a good job out there, and I think Penn State will be back.”

This offseason is going to be important for both Campbell and Fitzgerald in getting their programs where they want to go. That means building the rosters and infrastructure to thrive moving forward.