Penn State gets their man...

[mattp]

Underwhelmned. I'm a Patritos fan. Not a fan of O'Brien. I predicted Munchak or Tom Bradley. Since Munchak wasn't coming, should have given it to Bradley.

am i the only one that thinks pretty much every coach to come out of NE not named Bill Bellichek is overrated? none of these guys have panned out. it's amazing how many head coaching jobs were awarded due to Tom Brady's brilliance

 

[UConnRock]

Interesting hire. No PSU connection and no head coaching experience. No clue on how he will handle the general pressure of being the PSU coach or how he will handle the media spotlight post-Sandusky. Alums and former players are in an uproar. They were willing to accept 3 options; a PSU guy w/ HC experience (Munchack), a PSU guy without HC experience, or an experienced HC with no PSU connection. They swung and missed on all three options.

With him coaching the Pats through the playoffs, it is a given that lots of the PSU assistants will stay in place if they want to stay. Will be interesting to see what Bradley, Johnson and other decide.

It sucks for UConn that he is a Mass native, Brown grad, and former Pats coach. He will recruit New England hard. Was hoping the new coach would shift PSU's recruiting geography.

 

[FDNY99]

If Don Brown gets the Yale gig I will personally pick up Larry Johnson at the airport.

Bradley wouldn't be a bad choice either.

 

[FDNY99]

It sucks for UConn that he is a Mass native, Brown grad, and former Pats coach. He will recruit New England hard. Was hoping the new coach would shift PSU's recruiting geography.

If this hire truely does piss off the PSU fan base...PA may truely be open season for recruits.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Penn State in trouble? Not for long. Let's think about it. USC was in a mess, with Pete Carroll leaving town one step ahead of the posse. Reggie Bush pulled them under. Matt Linhart certainly didn't help their image. The NCAA was putting it to the Trojans, but good. Lane Kiffen arrives on campus with baggage. And yet, they were 8-5 in '10 and '10-2" this season. They are also poise for a run at the NC in '12.

That program was a mess and should have been doomed . . . but it has emerged stronger as will Penn State.

 

[FDNY99]

The BIGGEST difference with your comparison...Kiffin coached at USC under Carroll and was part of a national championship until Al Davis hired him. He then went to Tennessee as a HC before he left to go back to USC. He is a dynamic recruiter, and was able to add the BEST recruiter in BCS football in Eddie Orgeron to his staff at USC. O'Brien has no head coaching experience...and no ties to PSU. O'Brien will be gone in 4 yrs...replaced by a big name coach who will bring program back.

Penn State in trouble? Not for long. Let's think about it. USC was in a mess, with Pete Carroll leaving town one step ahead of the posse. Reggie Bush pulled them under. Matt Linhart certainly didn't help their image. The NCAA was putting it to the Trojans, but good. Lane Kiffen arrives on campus with baggage. And yet, they were 8-5 in '10 and '10-2" this season. They are also poise for a run at the NC in '12.

That program was a mess and should have been doomed . . . but it has emerged stronger as will Penn State.

 

[BHusky]

Penn State in trouble? Not for long. Let's think about it. USC was in a mess, with Pete Carroll leaving town one step ahead of the posse. Reggie Bush pulled them under. Matt Linhart certainly didn't help their image. The NCAA was putting it to the Trojans, but good. Lane Kiffen arrives on campus with baggage. And yet, they were 8-5 in '10 and '10-2" this season. They are also poise for a run at the NC in '12.

That program was a mess and should have been doomed . . . but it has emerged stronger as will Penn State.

I would assume talking with recruits about improper benefits and a 2 year post season ban is a bit different than a huge molestation scandal involving the schools legendary coach and most recognizable assistant coach.

Here is the difference in the 2. USC (and you can add OSU) had a recognizable coach ready and waiting to take over from that "scandle". USC did not miss a beat and OSU will be just fine under Meyer. PSU could not even get interviews with mid-tier college head coaches and settle for mediocre OC's with no experience. If you took the school name off the list of interviewees, I would think it was for a mid major school, not PSU. The school may not be doomed, but they will have a 5+ year transition from this mess before another quality coach comes in. They have not even gotten to the trial yet which will open wounds again and cause more media backlash.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Well, so that makes two consecutive hires for the head football position at PSU, coming out of Providence, RI. 60 years later, they hire another Brown University alum in State College. Are things ever going to change over there? How ironic is that. Penn State University is in a world of hurt, and deserve every bit of it.

 

[upstater]

Upstater I can't see Bradley staying around, especially if it is true he was not notified of the hire before it was reported by the press. I can also see Johnson leaving for another DC job somewhere else. Same with Vander Linden. On an interesting note. ..George O'Leary had named O'Brien OC at Notre Dame before he got caught falsifing his resume and was forced to resign. O'Brien went back to Tech...worked under Chan Gailey for a year...then hightailed it to Duke where he was OC for 2 seasons and the Blue Devils won 1 game. Rough times ahead for PSU fans.

I wasn't referring to Bradley. Just Johnson and Vanderlinden.

http://www.eagletribune.com/sports/x191087363/OBriens-mentor-says-hes-ready

This article seems to think that O'Brien is better than I think he is. WhatdoIknow?

 

[upstater]

This was about the BoT sending a message to the team and fans that football will never be bigger than the university again, the board could have given the team and fans a popular pick, but the wanted a fresh start. Palatine is right, this scandal and new hire will most ccertainly take several years to turn around.

I don't know if we'll ever see a big name coach come out of happy valley, some one like Saban or Meyer.

Remember, Saban was a Belichick assistant who left for a land grant Big10 school.

 

[upstater]

This is a pretty clear statement on how damaged that program is. 56 days to find a guy who could've been hired 56 days ago with a phone call. In that time we went from Urban Meyer buying his house to Munchak leaving the NFL to a guy best known for bitching at Tom Brady during a win when he threw for 300+ yards and 4tds's.

It was all about Munchak. That's why they waited, and they couldn't do anything about it until the season was over. They had no choice. Don't believe the stuff about Petersen or anyone else. They went hard after Munchak and then interviewed only Roman and O'Brien. The Mullen and Richt stuff was all noise because those coaches, like Petersen, were negotiating contracts with their schools.

Think about it, no NFL coach has left midseason other than Fairbanks and, if I'm not mistaken, Petrino, and those two guys were roundly vilified. Fairbanks never went back to the NFL and Petrino probably never will either.

 

[upstater]

Had JoePa retired years ago (as he should have), it would have been difficult to follow in his wake. He brought high profile, great success and unprecedented (in this day and age) longevity. No one was gonna come in and replace him.

But this is Penn State. Come on, if you want to talk about a challenge talk to the Head Coaches at Indiana, Minnesota, Kansas, Mississippi State, Syracuse,etc. These are programs that struggle for a place in the sun. Penn State is - and will be - an elite program. The place is all "tooled up" for success.

I don't understand why people automatically assume that Sandusky was pushed out because of the 1999 shower incident. Paterno has a long history of telling his top associates that they will not be considered for the head job. He did it to Welsh who then left for Virginia, he did it to Fran Ganter, he did it to Tom Bradley who started interviewing immediately after he was told, he even told Al Golden last year to take the Miami job because he would not be considered at Penn State. Given that he hung on and coached another 12 years after Sandusky, I would guess that Sandusky was no different than Welsh, Ganter and Bradley. Heck, Sandusky immediately interviewed for the HC position at Virginia.

You're right that Paterno hung on for too long, and of course people have been saying this forever. He had some really good top 10 or top 5 seasons in the last decade, but the school would have been better off if he had stepped down 10 years ago for Fran Ganter. That's who should have taken over. But Paterno blew it and brought this mess on himself.

 

[upstater]

am i the only one that thinks pretty much every coach to come out of NE not named Bill Bellichek is overrated? none of these guys have panned out. it's amazing how many head coaching jobs were awarded due to Tom Brady's brilliance

There are a lot of good coaches. Romeo Crennel is a solid coach. He was given a bum wrap in Cleveland. Other Belichick assistants are Nick Saban, Schwartz in Detroit, Ferentz at Iowa. Weis didn't work out but he's a brilliant offensive coordinator who was never meant to be a HC. I am much less impressed with McDaniels and O'Brien than I was with Crennel and Weis. The two older guys have a lot more experience but were also brilliant. Weis didn't have it as a head guy. I firmly believe Crennel did and does. Obviously Schwartz, Saban and Ferentz have proven themselves.

 

[upstater]

Interesting hire. No PSU connection and no head coaching experience. No clue on how he will handle the general pressure of being the PSU coach or how he will handle the media spotlight post-Sandusky. Alums and former players are in an uproar. They were willing to accept 3 options; a PSU guy w/ HC experience (Munchack), a PSU guy without HC experience, or an experienced HC with no PSU connection. They swung and missed on all three options.

With him coaching the Pats through the playoffs, it is a given that lots of the PSU assistants will stay in place if they want to stay. Will be interesting to see what Bradley, Johnson and other decide.

It sucks for UConn that he is a Mass native, Brown grad, and former Pats coach. He will recruit New England hard. Was hoping the new coach would shift PSU's recruiting geography.

PSU's recruiting geography has only lately looked at New England, probably because of the decline of BC and Syracuse. It has a much longer history in the ACC states and New Jersey. Remember, O'Brien--like practically all of the key PSU recruiters--has college experience at 3 different ACC schools. Vanderlinden was the HC at Maryland and Johnson comes from Maryland. O'Brien is just like the rest of the staff--heavy on Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina ties. Those have always been the most important recruiting grounds for PSU outside Pennsylvania, as well as New Jersey.

 

[upstater]

I would assume talking with recruits about improper benefits and a 2 year post season ban is a bit different than a huge molestation scandal involving the schools legendary coach and most recognizable assistant coach.

Here is the difference in the 2. USC (and you can add OSU) had a recognizable coach ready and waiting to take over from that "scandle". USC did not miss a beat and OSU will be just fine under Meyer. PSU could not even get interviews with mid-tier college head coaches and settle for mediocre OC's with no experience. If you took the school name off the list of interviewees, I would think it was for a mid major school, not PSU. The school may not be doomed, but they will have a 5+ year transition from this mess before another quality coach comes in. They have not even gotten to the trial yet which will open wounds again and cause more media backlash.

What is all this talk about legendary coaches? Sandusky was never so famous as when he raped these kids.

Think about it: can any of you name any legendary assistant coaches in college football right now? I can't. Bud Foster? I mean, these people are just not entirely well known. I grew up a PSU fan and honestly didn't know who these guys were until I got to State College in the early 90s, but even then I don't recall anyone on campus talking about anyone other than Paterno. For sure, in football circles (i.e. among players and coaches) Sandusky was a legend, but to the general public, I'm not sure anyone cared.

 

[HartfordHank]

Larry Johnson and almost all the key coaches joined PSU in the 2000s, after Sandusky had left. Tom Bradley was one of the few who were there before.

Larry Johnson has been at Penn State since 1996. From 1996 to 1999 he was the DE/ST coach. In 2000 he took over the DL.

 

[Yonick]

Should the PATS make the super bowl, O'brien will not be available until after LOI day.

 

[Excalibur]

Penn State in trouble? Not for long. Let's think about it. USC was in a mess, with Pete Carroll leaving town one step ahead of the posse. Reggie Bush pulled them under. Matt Linhart certainly didn't help their image. The NCAA was putting it to the Trojans, but good. Lane Kiffen arrives on campus with baggage. And yet, they were 8-5 in '10 and '10-2" this season. They are also poise for a run at the NC in '12.

That program was a mess and should have been doomed . . . but it has emerged stronger as will Penn State.

Kiffin, despite his baggage, had proven that he could coach. The TN team he had was awful in terms of its talent, at least by SEC standards.

 

[BHusky]

What is all this talk about legendary coaches? Sandusky was never so famous as when he raped these kids.

Think about it: can any of you name any legendary assistant coaches in college football right now? I can't. Bud Foster? I mean, these people are just not entirely well known. I grew up a PSU fan and honestly didn't know who these guys were until I got to State College in the early 90s, but even then I don't recall anyone on campus talking about anyone other than Paterno. For sure, in football circles (i.e. among players and coaches) Sandusky was a legend, but to the general public, I'm not sure anyone cared.

You misinterpreted my point. Legandary coach being JoePa and most recognizable assistant being Sandusky. They come as a package in that scandal.

JoePa had 40 years as HC at PSU and Sandusky was his best and most recognizable. So maybe not nationally, but if you ask some of the football minds who the best ever assistant coaches are in college football Sandusky would be up there on the list (pre-scandal). Even those who do not follow football 24/7 or know much about PSU football will recognize its old nickname as Linebacker U which is because of him.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Penn State is still a great school. It will take far less time to repair the "damage to the university" than people think. The Big Nittany isn't going away anythime soon.

 

[Palatine]

Penn State is still a great school. It will take far less time to repair the "damage to the university" than people think. The Big Nittany isn't going away anythime soon.

No one knows ho long this will take because it's a complete unique situation. This isn't some recruiting scandal. It is child molestation that was hidden because the football program was protected at the expense of the kids. This could hurt recruiting for a long time.

On the field,Penn State also competes against, Michigan, Ohio Stae, and other top notch programs on an annual basis, so even a small step down could result in mediocre records for a long time.

Remember when JoPa hit his rough patch? Attendance started dropping quickly.

PSU may be a great school. But there is no guarantee that the football program will compete as a top tier program in the near future.

 

[Excalibur]

Penn State is still a great school. It will take far less time to repair the "damage to the university" than people think. The Big Nittany isn't going away anythime soon.

There was damage to the PSU brand far beyond what would happen with a recruiting scandal or a few down years. That will hurt recruiting.

 

[Carl Spackler]

There was damage to the PSU brand far beyond what would happen with a recruiting scandal or a few down years. That will hurt recruiting.

I agree completely. Penn State is in a world of hurt.

Penn State is ...buzzword of the current times.....TOXIC. Toxic waste decays over time, and Penn State will continue to have a toxic waste problem even well after the innocence or guilt is determined by the justice system for those involved in the alleged serial child rape and molestation and the alleged subsequent cover up that occurred there.

It's a tragedy of epic proportions and a horror story that makes any fictional horror seem harmless. It's tragic for everyone associated with such a great institution, that had nothing to do with the horror of it, but now forever will need to defend their association with the university and those within the univeristy that they may have held up so high in regard. People will constantly need to say, I didn't know anything about it. OR: That happened with people that were there before I was there. Etc. Etc.

It will decay over time, but like radioactive waste, it's not happening any time soon.

 

[Nostical]

Just what do the Lions see in O`Brien? No head coachng experience. I`d have been shocked if he had been chosen as UConn`s coach, let alone PSU.

 

[Carl Spackler]

What do they see in O'Brien? Probably a guy that said "Yes, I'll do it.", instead of, "No, thanks.", or, "Let me think about it.", and then, "No, thanks."

 

[Nostical]

Hah! You may just be right.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

If Don Brown takes the Yale job, I sure hope that Tom Bradley comes to UConn as the DC.

With PP and GDL's connections and recruting prowess in NJ and New England combined with Bradley's connections and recruting prowess in Western PA, not only would our coaching staff be great football wise, but our recruiting capabilites would be 1,000x better than they were 2 years ago with the two major sources of talent in the Northest (NJ and Western PA).

 

[B1GEast]

If Don Brown takes the Yale job, I sure hope that Tom Bradley comes to UConn as the DC.

I don't think so, unfortunately most of the staff at Penn St will have a tough time finding work just because of how it all went down. Can you imagine the flak they'll get from school administrators that approve hiring?

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

I don't think so, unfortunately most of the staff at Penn St will have a tough time finding work just because of how it all went down. Can you imagine the flak they'll get from school administrators that approve hiring?

I don't see that happening. What did the assistants do wrong (besides the guy who witnessed the shower sitation)? They had nothing to do with the situation at all (unless there is some information out there that I am not aware of). I don't see them having an issue getting jobs.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I don't see that happening. What did the assistants do wrong (besides the guy who witnessed the shower sitation)? They had nothing to do with the situation at all (unless there is some information out there that I am not aware of). I don't see them having an issue getting jobs.

Anybody not directly associated will have a hard time washing that toxic stain off anytime they interact publicly with people wherever they end up, or with new acquaintances personally wherever they end up. They won't have a hard time finding jobs. It will be a buyer's market though, people are going to think real hard if they want to deal with the baggage, even if that person had absolutely no connection whatsoever, that's how damaging this has been to PSU, and again, all of it rightfully so, as it should have been dealt with clearly and cleanly and definitively and publicly many years ago.