The latest leading candidate at PSU

Submitted by APBlue on

According to USA Today's John Saracena' s tweet, Bill O'Brien is close to becoming the head coach at PSU.  Yes, Bill O'Brien - he of the sideline shouting match with Tom Brady.  

https://twitter.com/#!/jonnysaraceno/status/153507696786673665

 

A person with knowledge of the Penn State hiring tells USA TODAY that only contract details need to be finalized before O'Brien is the man.

 

 

According to Bill O'Brien's wikipedia page, he spent 1993-2006 in the college ranks, as an assistant coach, mostly in the ACC.  It doesn't appear he's ever been a head coach at any level.  

This should be welcome news.  O'Brien can join the growing list of Belichick assistants to fail (Crennel, Weiss, Mangini, McDaniel).  

MGoCooper

January 1st, 2012 at 12:42 PM ^

And it's met with a collective "meh", by most B1G fans. I'm not a big fan of hiring coaches from explosive offenses. That Patriots offense has been real good for a long time, and there's no coach that's responsible for it. But, for PSU's sake, I hope it works out for them. We need a strong PSU, for Michigan to reach their pottential.

markinmsp

January 1st, 2012 at 1:59 PM ^

  I agree.

  Am a little surprised that MSU's Narducci wasn't in the mix.  I thought he was perfect from the beginning, originally an east coast guy, strong defensively to rebuild LinebackerU... But then he was probably contacted and there was no interest.

  Plus they have two guys on defense that have head Coach experience that I thought would be in mix, but they probably want someone "untarnished" from the outside to avoid lingering fallout.

kinny18

January 1st, 2012 at 1:16 PM ^

That there's been 6 "leading" candidates with nobody hired yet...nobody wants the job of following a legend and cleaning up the mess. Happy Valley is seemingly "cultish" IMO

LSAClassOf2000

January 1st, 2012 at 1:40 PM ^

...from the beginning, they would have gotten someone that was relatively green and try to get a fresh start, if you will, even if it meant a few down years, and that now seems to be the direction they are taking. If they really want to even begin to disconnect themselves from the past, then a clean break (or as close as you can get) is the best way to do it, I think. 

93Grad

January 1st, 2012 at 3:00 PM ^

For one, the B1G needs all of its top programs to do well from a national prestige perspective.  Second, a strong PSU is a good counter ballance to OSU both in recruiting and on the field.  OSU has the most to gain from a down PSU.  Third, they aren't in our division so there is no down side for us in PSU being good. 

 

This sounds like a really mediocre hire.  No head coaching experience, no recruiting ties to the area, no name recognition and his accompishments are all due to Brady (se, e.g. Weiss and McDaniels)

APBlue

January 1st, 2012 at 4:14 PM ^

They should aspire to hire a mediocre coach. Who, in their right mind and with any viable options, would take this job?
<br>Under normal circumstances, I agree with the benefit of having a good PSU team. However, since they decided to allow a child rapist to use their facilities as his den, it's okay with me if they die on the vine. To hell with them.

Roy G. Biv

January 1st, 2012 at 5:04 PM ^

I think it obvious they need someone who is hungry for a big-time job, but at the same time someone without a lot of options to find that job.  I genuinely feel sorry for the players, alumni fans, etc., that have nothing to with what went on there.  Unfortunately, they're collateral damage for a program that is going to suffer for probably the next decade.

Feat of Clay

January 1st, 2012 at 6:44 PM ^

I believe nothing. An AD friend who hired a DI coach a few years back said he couldn't believe the stuff in the media. He'd read in the paper that some coach he'd never spoken to was "in serious talks" with his school.

Steve in PA

January 1st, 2012 at 8:27 PM ^

I read an analysis somewhere that coaches from the defensive side of the ball tend to be more successful as head coaches.  The theory behind the analysis was that a defensive coach not only has to know defense, but many types of offense as well.  It was probably written by a former player though.

I would like to see PSU pursue a qualified minority candidate if we're going to offer our 2 cents.  If I were doing the hiring, I'd be after Mike London in a big way.