Texans appear to be ready to name Bill O'Brien the Head Coach(ESPN)

If he's like all the other fruits of the poison Beliache tree,, (Crennel, Weis. McDaniel. Mangini et al)....they are in for a few years of failure and another new HC after that.

 

Not with McNair and that roster. Look at how long Kubiak stayed there and he sucked.

 

Schefter just said on NFL Network that Penn State is looking to hire Greg Schiano if O'Brien is hired by the Texans.

 

ESPN also just had a ticker at the bottom of the screen saying O'Brien is staying at Penn State.

I don't think I've ever seen a story reported so definitively in so many different directions. Both ESPN and NFLN have reported multiple times that he will and won't be the next HC, it just depends who you ask.

 

That would be such a dick move by O'Brien, which would solidify him being from the Belichick tree.

This guy convinced a whole bunch of young men to remain committed to PSU after the scandal and the sanctions. While I would normally say that college athletes should choose a school and not a coach, this was an unusual situation. He sold these kids on him and pledged to stand by them if they stuck it out at PSU. A bunch of prospects who had the chance to go elsewhere after the scandal and sanctions decided not to. I personally know one of these kids who was a freshman this season and he could have gone to 4-5 other big time schools with similar academic credentials as PSU, but chose to honor his commitment to PSU because of O'Brian. This might be one of the biggest coaching douche bag moves of all time.

 

This is partially why I hope he stays at PSU. He pulled that school out of the ashes, Matt McGloin personally thanked him for being able to even play in the NFL because Jay Paterno was a joke when it came to QB's, according to McGloin.

But at the same time, he's already done so much and got PSU on the right track, if Schiano wasn't in line to succeed him I wouldn't be so worried for PSU, but Schiano is not remotely as good with players as O'Brien is.

 

He took the job, what an ass. He got those kids to committ to PSU because of the tradition and he bails on them first chance he gets. I get the move up and get paid aspect but this was a unique situation and he should not have taken the PSU if he wasn't going to committ 100% to getting them through their troubles.

 

The media is portraying this guy so much differently. They think he didn't have to deal with the added on sanctions Penn State received (there were some sanctions he was aware of, but there were others he was not informed off causing Bill O'Brien to rethink if he wanted to stay at Penn State) - he deserved to have his own choice.

Idk - I feel bad for the kids as always, those kids are always last on the list. $$$ talks.

 

There were rumors they could get the death penalty so and the NCAA actually lifted some of the sanctions. He's a former Patriot so of course the media will portray him as a saint.

 

http://www.pennlive.com/sports/inde...tsider_arriv.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medi

It's a good read, it sheds a lot of light on the situation.

 

Thanks, it was a good read and I think it's a shit situation all around but the ultimate losers are the kids who bought into O'Brien's vision knowing that there was a good chance many of them would never see a bowl game or a Big 10 championship.

 

Agreed, it's shitty, but I almost feel like O'Brien staying there would be worse for them than him leaving.

I believe he truly wants the best for those kids, but the situation and the politics involved seemed to be driving him crazy. Him leaving and PSU getting a coach more suited for the political side might actually be what really is best for the kids there.

It sucks that they bought into HIS specific vision and now he's leaving, but nobody could have known what they were walking into and like the article stated, he at least is leaving the program in MUCH better shape than when he got there. Let's just hope the next coach can bring as much to the table as O'Brien did and get PSU back to producing NFL caliber talent again on a regular basis like they used to awhile back.

 

Can't blame O'Brien for leaving. That's ridiculous. The guy did a spectacular job there considering the circumstances. I'd venture to say that they hit the lottery when they fired him as it could've gotten really ugly for that program, as far as on the field.

I'm glad strng shared that article because it shows exactly what the problem is in Penn St. They (leadership/fanbase) are too rooted in the past, still. Too hung on to Paterno and they are going to get left behind.

They need to look around the college football landscape and get with the times. College coaches don't stick around for an entirety like Paterno did. They shouldn't be worshiped and they don't (and shouldn't be expected to) be the university spokesman for anything and everything....

All O'Brien did was save the program from becoming a joke or worse AND win games despite being at an unbelievable disadvantage AND pull miracles on the recruiting trail that puts them on solid footing for the next guy....

and yet that wasn't good enough at Penn St? And now they are going to trash him for leaving.... in an era where coaches come and go to universities like they please?

They cost themselves a great coach with their bullshit and now might very well slip into the oblivion that they were determined to avoid.

Just a guess, but when they are consistently winning 3 or less games a year and competing with the Temples, the UMASSs and the Akron U's of the world for players they might get be dying for a guy like O'Brien who just wants to coach football and not be held hostage by Paterno's image. When their football team is in shambles will they still care of the coach doesn't show up for a dedication of a new science building? Will they still demand that the coach become the central figure and never leave?

 

Leaving to take the Houston job was not a douche move in any way.

 

While it's obviously an apples to oranges comparison but I deal with this exact situation with UNLV and their fanbase. I'm an alum but also a realist, I know Tark isn't walking through the door to bring us back to what we were pre-NCAA and Maxson trainwreck. There are many fans who refuse to accept that the odds of a team coming from the MWC to win a national title are extremely slim, this isn't 1987-1991 anymore but many of them still live with the thought that every coach we hire is going to lead us to national titles. I think most schools that have had legendary coaches ie; Tom Osburne, Bobby Knight, Joe Pa will experience some sort of this from the older fanbase.

 

I agree. He was better than Penn State could have ever expected and is leaving the program in a much better place than when he got there.

In fact the best thing that could happen to Penn State would be for Schiano to take over the program.

He probably realizes by now he is not cut out for the pro game (players). But he is an excellent recruiter and college coach.

 

I don't follow UNLV but I can certainly follow what you are saying. I can see that being a problem there too. I think it's worse at Penn St. though. It's not likely that you guys are going to hire a guy that gets you continually gunning for championships again, but it's definitely at least possible.

The problem with Penn St. though is that they don't just want to win (which has been and will be hard enough after pedo-gate) - they want Joe Paterno again. They want a guy who embodies the university. Who will speak at university events completely unrelated to football, who will donate to put his name on the library, who will NEVER leave.

That's not only unreasonable- but completely impossible that that is going to happen. Which was O'Brien's problem. Most places would rally around the tremendous job he did with that team - but they never did with him. He had to answer for every decision he made/action he did that was different from Paternos. Just ridiculous. They deserve for him to jump ship.