Penn State is finalizing an offer for its head coaching vacancy for Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, sources familiar with the negotiations told The Athletic, as athletic director Pat Kraft tries to bring the search for James Franklin’s replacement to a conclusion.

Kraft went to Ames Thursday to meet with Campbell. Two sources said the meeting went well and Friday was about trying to negotiate terms of a contract.

Campbell, 46, is 72-55 overall and 50-40 in the Big 12 since taking over in Ames in 2016. The Cyclones beat Oklahoma (two) and Texas (three) a combined five times under Campbell. In the program’s 128-year history, it has a total of 12 victories against those two schools.

Iowa State has made its only two Big 12 title game appearances under Campbell. Including a five-year stint as Toledo’s head coach, Campbell’s overall record is 107-70. Campbell has been involved in many coaching searches over the years. He received interest from the New York Jets that he declined, and he was a finalist for the USC job that went to Lincoln Riley.

If the deal with Campbell gets done, Iowa State could turn to a few names to fill his vacancy: current offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser (who has been on staff for 10 years), Toledo head coach Jason Candle, LA Rams pass game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase (a former ISU assistant) and Army head coach Jeff Monken, among others.

Campbell’s hiring would close a long and difficult chapter for Penn State athletics. Following the Nittany Lions’ 22-21 home loss to Northwestern on Oct. 11, making it three straight Big Ten losses for the preseason No. 2 team in the AP poll, athletic director Pat Kraft fired Franklin. The skid was kick-started by a double-overtime loss at home to No. 6 Oregon and also included a 42-37 defeat at previously winless UCLA.

It was a shocking flip from not only Penn State’s preseason ranking, but from where it was in January. The Nittany Lions were tied with Notre Dame late in the Orange Bowl national semifinal before an interception set up the Irish’s game-winning field goal. But Franklin routinely fell short in big-game situations with a 1-15 record against top-five competition, including 14 consecutive losses, and fan frustration mounted.

Penn State initially was on the hook to pay Franklin around $49 million, but that number was subject to mitigation for when he received his next job. Franklin, who landed the head coach job at Virginia Tech, settled with Penn State for $9 million.

Under interim coach Terry Smith, the Nittany Lions lost three more Big Ten games before rallying with three straight victories to finish 6-6 overall. The ensuing search roped in prominent coaching names from across the country — and was thought to help trigger extensions for Curt Cignetti at Indiana, Matt Rhule at Nebraska and Kalani Sitake at BYU, possibly among others.