Coming and going

The University of Toledo and athletic director Mike O’Brien said farewell to Matt Campbell, on Nov. 29 after his appointment as new head coach at Iowa State University.

Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Jon Heacock will serve as interim head coach until a permanent replacement can be found. The Rockets will use an outside hiring firm to find a permanent replacement immediately, according to O’Brien.

“We wish Matt and his family the very best in their future life at Iowa State,” O’Brien said in a press conference. “Matt did an outstanding job in his seven years with the Rockets, four as the head coach. His leadership of the student-athletes on our football team has been exemplary, and he leaves our football program in very good shape for our next head coach.”

Campbell, who turned 36 years old on Sunday, was 35-15 in four seasons as head coach. Toledo finished this season 9-2 and was at one point ranked as No. 19 by the Associated Press this year. Campbell also served as the UT offensive coordinator from 2009-11 under former Head Coach Tim Beckman, who left for the head coaching position at Illinois.

Campbell’s first game as head coach ended in a 42-41 victory over the Air Force in the 2011 Military Bowl. He also led UT to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2012 and to a 63-44 victory over Arkansas State last year in the GoDaddy Bowl.

O’Brien also indicated that the current Toledo assistant coaches will be available to coach UT for their bowl game that will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 6.

“There is no time table for the hiring,” O’Brien said. “Obviously with recruiting coming up, we want to move quickly.

Heacock, a 31-year veteran of coaching in the college football ranks, has helped shape Toledo’s defense into the No. 1 scoring defense in the MAC this season allowing just 21.2 points per game.

In the season prior to Heacock’s arrival, the Rockets ranked seventh in scoring defense giving up 28.6 points per game.

A former graduate assistant at UT under Dan Simrell in 1983, Heacock returned to Toledo in 2014 after spending one season as the defensive backs coach at Purdue. Prior to that, he was the defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach at Kent State in 2011 and 2012.

Prior to joining KSU in 2011, Heacock spent nine seasons as the head coach at Youngstown State, which included a 2006 run to the national semifinals in the Football Championship Subdivision. He was named the Gateway Conference Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2006, and ended his tenure with a 60-44 overall record.

Heacock was also named the American Football Coaches Association’s Division I-AA Region Four Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2006, and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award.

“In the meantime, we are pleased that Jon Heacock will be leading our team on an interim basis,” O’Brien said. “Jon has done a great job guiding our defense the past two years, and we look forward to his leadership as we prepare for a bowl game.”