Bill O’Brien landing on NFL radar screen
...O’Brien, per Mort, could draw interest from the Browns and the Eagles.
Though O’Brien’s buyout reportedly is in the range of $9 million, the lawyers could get involved in light of Mortensen’s explanation that, when O’Brien took the job, he was told that the Jerry Sandusky scandal was a criminal matter only, not an NCAA issue.
That misrepresentation could allow him, potentially, to get out of the contract with a reduced buyout — or perhaps with no buyout at all....
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/30/bill-obrien-landing-on-nfl-radar-screen/
December 30th, 2012 at 4:44 PM ^
December 30th, 2012 at 4:51 PM ^
faces in the next few years. But it will be hard for fans to see it through anything but very cynical eyes.
December 30th, 2012 at 4:54 PM ^
If O'brien leaves, the Nittany Lions are screwed. No way will they be able to get a coach of his caliber to replace him.
December 30th, 2012 at 5:07 PM ^
As late as last month, O'Brien had insisted that he planned to stay at Penn State in an ESPN interview, and as I recall, his agent has said his understanding of O'Brien's contract is that the extension awarded to him was a result of the sanctions rather than a reward (it was an automatic trigger, I think, to get the extension when the sanctions were levied), so any buyout would need to cover only the initial deal. Still, it would be intriguing to see how far this goes - Penn State is obviously very committed to keeping him, likely out of desperation.
December 30th, 2012 at 6:03 PM ^
This is the part that kind of gets me, assuming that it was in fact an "automatic trigger." O'brien was under the impression that the NCAA would keep their hands off in regards to the Sandusky case, but he signed a contract with incentives based entirely on sanctions coming down? That doesn't sound like a convincing argument to me that he was blindsided by Penn State and the NCAA with sanctions.
December 30th, 2012 at 5:05 PM ^
December 30th, 2012 at 5:11 PM ^
Every report that has come out has not stated that the buyout is ironclad. In fact they have expressed doubt that it is. The extension was not given after the sanctions were given. It was triggered by the sanctions.
December 31st, 2012 at 7:27 AM ^
Which means that O'Brien's contract contemplated the possibility of sanctions. Tough to argue that PSU misrepresented its sanction potential when you wrote an automatic extension into the contract in case it happened.
December 30th, 2012 at 5:33 PM ^
My opinion may not be shared, but I think O'Brien should stay at Penn St. While looking at tenures of current NFL coaches, 17 of the 32 are in their 3rd year or less. Being a professional head coach is as unstable a job as there is and Penn St wouldn't let him go after the job he did in year one. Couple that with him still being able to reel in some very solid recruits despite the circumstances and he has it mde. In terms of stability for him and his family, it's a no-brainer.
December 30th, 2012 at 6:01 PM ^
December 30th, 2012 at 6:54 PM ^
My point was that you shoudn't give up a job that's a sure thing for the forseeable future for a job that has fewer than half their coaches in their 4th year or later. He can become a legend if he can take Penn State to prominence.
December 30th, 2012 at 5:36 PM ^
NFL owners have deep pockets. But would anyone be willing to shell out almost 60 mil up front to get a coach?
December 30th, 2012 at 8:06 PM ^
December 30th, 2012 at 6:33 PM ^
would they be able to leave without consequence if O'brien left? Or will they have to sit out a year and all that now?
December 30th, 2012 at 6:53 PM ^
Pretty sure O'Brien leaving wouldn't impact that.
December 30th, 2012 at 6:56 PM ^
next summer (August). That's regardless of whether O'Brien stays or not.
December 30th, 2012 at 7:42 PM ^
for the info.
December 30th, 2012 at 6:57 PM ^
They can leave through the beginning of next season without restrictions even if he stays.
December 30th, 2012 at 6:49 PM ^
December 30th, 2012 at 6:53 PM ^
I'm not going to pretend that I know what O'Brien should or will do. I can think of several good reasons to leave.
His value to the NFL is high now. Odds are it won't go up by staying. This rates to be the best team he will have for awhile there.
The buyout will be a non-issue if he can claim that PSU misled him on the likelihood of NCAA sanctions. There is no way that PSU administrators are going to testify in court about what they knew about the Sandusky scandal and about their communications with the NCAA. Add to that the fact they were dead wrong.
His recruiting class looks pretty good, but that's misleading. All of their best recruits committed before the sanctions were announced. O'Brien's done a good job of holding on to some of them and convincing Issah to recommit. Still, they have only added three and (mostly) two star players since then. Recruiting since the sanctions must not have been any fun and it probably looks worse for the class of 2014.
The NFL pays better than he's getting from PSU. Yes, he has more job security at PSU, but he isn't going to look at an NFL job with the idea that he is going to fail at it and be unemployable afterward.
December 30th, 2012 at 7:01 PM ^
If O'Brien left before signing day on Feb. 6, Hackenberg said he would reconsider his options.
"I'd think about it," Hackenberg said. "He was a big part of it. He's the guy who's going to develop me. That's one of the big things I looked at. I'll see what happens."
December 30th, 2012 at 7:15 PM ^
He seems like an excellent coach. I can understand why he might not want to be hamstrung by the sanctions, but if he can weather the next couple of years I could see him making PSU a power again. I'm not sure they could find an equally-good remplacement if he leaves.
December 30th, 2012 at 8:02 PM ^
I think he wants to coach in the NFL, but he's smart enough to not accept the first poisoned chalice that comes his way; if he's offered the Eagles job I think he'd take it.
He does seem like a good guy and I'm sure he would feel bad to leave these kids and his recruits, but this is the time to leave if he's gonna; recruits can still decommit, players can still transfer and he can still claim that it's about the sanctions, not the NFL.
December 31st, 2012 at 8:51 AM ^
I don't think he's so hot of a candidate he can pass over jobs and be certain a better one will come along. There's every chance the team won't be as good in coming seasons, and his star fades. If he wants to coach in the pros, he'd better strike while the iron is hot. Or at least leverage this situation into a better contract.
December 30th, 2012 at 8:16 PM ^
I desperately hope he stays at Penn State. He's probably my second favorite coach in the Big Ten right now behind Hoke, just ahead of Fitzgerald (despite jump celebration gate).
December 30th, 2012 at 9:14 PM ^
December 30th, 2012 at 9:35 PM ^
December 30th, 2012 at 10:20 PM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 1:06 AM ^