Bill O'Brien Next Penn State Head Coach

[blazindw]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7430206/bill-obrien-agrees-penn-state-nittany-lions-coach-sources-say

NE Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien set to take over the Penn State head coaching job. Will be announced Saturday. Those of us out there will remember him as the O-coordinator and QB coach here at Duke back in 2005 and 2006. Taking over a difficult situation up there in Happy Valley, to say the least, but still a tradition-rich program.

[Reilly]

From the outhouse (winless Duke, 2006) to the penthouse (#1 NE, 2011) to the hothouse (scandalous PSU) ....

[roywhite]

I wish him well.

He's got a real challenge in replacing a legend and healing the scandal damge.

[mkline09]

I wish him well don't evny his task. I'm personally happy it is over though because I got tired of hearing about how David Cutcliffe was a candidate for the job. I even had a Penn State writer from SB Nation that wanted to know what I thought about Cutcliffe the job he's done at Duke and what I thought about him being the coach at Penn State. I kindly responded with my take and ended with how I didn't feel that Cutcliffe would leave Duke for Penn State. I'm glad that I was right about that for sure.

But I wish O'Brien well.

[sagegrouse]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7430206/bill-obrien-agrees-penn-state-nittany-lions-coach-sources-say

NE Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien set to take over the Penn State head coaching job. Will be announced Saturday. Those of us out there will remember him as the O-coordinator and QB coach here at Duke back in 2005 and 2006. Taking over a difficult situation up there in Happy Valley, to say the least, but still a tradition-rich program.


I wish him well.

He's got a real challenge in replacing a legend and healing the scandal damge.

I wonder if he will be allowed to bring in an entire new set of coaches, and whether he would choose to do so? No disrespect to the hard-working staff there, but this place needs BIG changes and a fumigation. The problem was the corruption due to the accumulation of power with the head football coach and the football program. As Bobby Bowden commented shortly after the scandal came to light. "If you win games and make a lot of money for the university, you end up with power. The question is, how do you use it?" Bowden was no paragon of virtue, but the point is a good one.

sagegrouse

[brevity]

I'm very surprised by this choice. Knowing nothing specific about Penn State (football-wise, I mean), I would have thought that they would hire a coach with head coaching experience at the college level (to appease concerned university officials) and/or a former Penn State player (to appease concerned students and alumni). Coach O'Brien is neither. He has to learn on the job in a situation where institutional control is a major issue, and there is no margin for error. Plus he has to be able to deal with a very devastated and disgruntled community, create a united front in the next few weeks for purposes of recruiting, and, oh, be in two places at once while New England is still in the NFL playoffs.

This selection may eventually pay off major dividends, but it looks really nonsensical right now, in a time where any scandal-free head coach of a mid-major college in that region would have been spun by the media as more of a slam-dunk hire. I understand the university's desire to seek out an NFL guy with no Paterno connection -- an overreaction is still a reaction. But I understand even more the negative comments being issued today from former players.

[sagegrouse]

I'm very surprised by this choice. Knowing nothing specific about Penn State (football-wise, I mean), I would have thought that they would hire a coach with head coaching experience at the college level (to appease concerned university officials) and/or a former Penn State player (to appease concerned students and alumni).

----------------------------------------------

This selection may eventually pay off major dividends, but it looks really nonsensical right now, in a time where any scandal-free head coach of a mid-major college in that region would have been spun by the media as more of a slam-dunk hire. I understand the university's desire to seek out an NFL guy with no Paterno connection -- an overreaction is still a reaction. But I understand even more the negative comments being issued today from former players.

This hire was going to get criticized to high heaven no matter who was selected, given that (a) Penn State could not attract a big-name head coach and (b) there was no way it could hire a former Paterno player as head coach.

sagegrouse

[OldPhiKap]

Best of luck, say a good word about joining the ACC to your AD.

[Duvall]

Reports that Ted Roof will be joining O'Brien as Penn State defensive coordinator (https://twitter.com/#!/BTNTomDienhart/status/156500352559104001).

What did Penn State do to deserve this?

[PumpkinFunk]

Just to add to this story: John Strollo, O-Line coach at Duke under O'Brien, and former Duke head coach Ted Roof are going to Penn State, with Roof as the defensive coordinator. I'm not sure that's a band that anyone wants to be getting back together. 1-22, 21 straight losses. That was just before my freshman year, but I feel like those two seasons were rock bottom.

[roywhite]

Just to add to this story: John Strollo, O-Line coach at Duke under O'Brien, and former Duke head coach Ted Roof are going to Penn State, with Roof as the defensive coordinator. I'm not sure that's a band that anyone wants to be getting back together. 1-22, 21 straight losses. That was just before my freshman year, but I feel like those two seasons were rock bottom.

And add in Charles London, who both played and coached at Duke, as Running Backs coach and possibly at OL coach Mac McWhorter, who had stints at Georgia and Texas, and also one year at Duke.

PSU coaching staff so far (http://coachingtree.blogspot.com/2012/01/penn-state-coaching-staff.html)

The Duke connection is looked at skeptically at this point by the PSU message board types.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

And add in Charles London, who both played and coached at Duke, as Running Backs coach and possibly Mac McWhorter, who had stints at Georgia and Texas, and also one year at Duke.

PSU coaching staff so far (http://coachingtree.blogspot.com/2012/01/penn-state-coaching-staff.html)

The Duke connection is looked at skeptically at this point by the PSU message board types.

Georgia Tech is a common connection among many of the guys as well.

[Turk]

I'll be a cynic. It will take a couple of coaching changes at Penn State to buy some time while the rest of the fumigation / convictions / lawsuits work their way through Happy Valley and the judicial system. Once that's done, the alumni and trustees will get itchy for a Paterno disciple who has the right mix of JoePa's better instincts adapted for a more modern era. Think of the TarHoles having to go through Guthridge and D'oh! to eventually get back to Ol' Roy. If PSU is lucky, this will be their D'oh! hire. I'm not expecting much, and I don't think this guy gets the job if he didn't get his 15 minutes of fame chewing out Tom Brady and his 3 Supe rings on the national telly.

Just because Sandusky was off the reservation doesn't mean that every single coach or player ever associated with Paterno must be permanently excluded from consideration until the end of time. Those guys know how to run a clean program and win football games, and one of them will take over the program within 5 years. One alleged perv doesn't change that.

[loran16]

Reports that Ted Roof will be joining O'Brien as Penn State defensive coordinator (https://twitter.com/#!/BTNTomDienhart/status/156500352559104001).

What did Penn State do to deserve this?

The O'Brien-Roof connection was sparkling at 1-22 (0-21 against D1A). Poor Penn State.