January 5th, 2012 at 10:08 PM ^
A Patriots offensive coordinator is as fail proof of a hire as you can get. Those guys always make great head coaches.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:10 PM ^
January 5th, 2012 at 10:10 PM ^
Just because Charlie Weis didn't pan out doesn't mean all OCs from NE will suck at the college level. This could be good for the program actually.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:16 PM ^
Don't forget about Josh McDaniels. Failure as Broncos head coach and currently failing as Rams OC. Turns out Tom Brady can make a lot of guys look much better than they really are.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:32 PM ^
Let's also not forget that Belichick, love him or hate him, is a fairly decent NFL head coach.
January 6th, 2012 at 12:28 AM ^
Not in Cleveland
January 6th, 2012 at 1:51 AM ^
Nobody is there since Marty and Bernie ruled that city.
January 6th, 2012 at 6:26 AM ^
True, but he clearly learned from the mistakes he made during his time there and applied those lessons in NE.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:44 PM ^
McDaniels also has nothing to do with O'Brien.
Good thing the Patriots didn't look at the record of retread coaches formerly of the Cleveland Browns and used it as a deciding factor to not hire Belichick, eh?
January 5th, 2012 at 11:06 PM ^
Also Romeo Crennel if you wanna add DC into the mix
January 5th, 2012 at 11:09 PM ^
Or Mangini.
January 6th, 2012 at 1:50 AM ^
I thought the Mangina only made it as far as secondary coach on the Hoodie's totem pole?
January 6th, 2012 at 1:17 PM ^
He was DC for 1 year after Romeo left then took over the Jets
January 5th, 2012 at 11:10 PM ^
OK He sucked as a head coach, but the St. Louis offensive failiure is not entirely his fault
January 6th, 2012 at 12:05 AM ^
Did Tom make Lloyd look better too?????
January 5th, 2012 at 10:50 PM ^
With the old guard. Fresh start is the best they could hope for. How many questions do you think the new coach will have to answer about the mess at PSU. The media won't ask a single question about his offense.
January 6th, 2012 at 3:12 AM ^
totally right, he coordinated an offensive powerhouse when he coached @Duke.. they even won one game during his time there!!!!
January 5th, 2012 at 11:13 PM ^
A Pats Coordinator in general. Chuck, Romeo, McDaniels...all super successful as head coaches...right? ...guys?
January 6th, 2012 at 12:49 AM ^
January 5th, 2012 at 10:09 PM ^
January 5th, 2012 at 10:10 PM ^
Wait until he realizes he won't have Brady at quarterback.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:12 PM ^
Are you telling me that Matt McGloin =/= Tom Brady?!?!
I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you!
January 6th, 2012 at 12:16 AM ^
Except when he's going up against a GERG-coached defense with a Gibson-coached secondary.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:13 PM ^
I only care what he thinks of this guy, right now.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:23 PM ^
January 5th, 2012 at 10:16 PM ^
January 5th, 2012 at 10:17 PM ^
matt mcgloin is no tom brady good sir. but hopefully he does well. the B1G needs penn state to be good again.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:21 PM ^
....given their predicament was a shot in the dark. This is exactly that. For their sake, I hope it works out.
January 6th, 2012 at 12:24 AM ^
They apparently relied heavily on personal references. Because otherwise this seems like an odd choice. I don't get why they zeroed in on two NFL guys with no head coaching experience. Munchak made some sense since he played at Penn State, but O'Brien doesn't have any prior Penn State ties. A Patriots offensive coordinator in particular would seem like a risky candidate, since you can never be sure how much of his success is due to Tom Brady and how much is due to his own acumen. The last time a big-time program gambled on a Patriots OC, it didn't work out too well (Charlie Weis).
January 6th, 2012 at 5:56 AM ^
I would agree. It seems like they jumped at the first person who both had the slightest amount of buzz and was willing, which still leaves a lot of "Huh?" choices. I know it was pointed out when the rumor thread went up last week at some point that the history of Patriots OCs in the college ranks hasn't been the best either, and yet I wonder if the PSU AD was so worried about everything else that he skipped that detail.
No matter, it makes me think that PSU is going to potentially go away for a bit and inabit a quiet corner of the Leaders division for a few years, especially since O'Brien might have about as much trouble putting together a staff as PSU did in eventually finding him. I hope it works out, as I said, but I am beginning to see a big reset on the horizon for them.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:22 PM ^
Will Penn St. have a decided schematic advantage now?
January 5th, 2012 at 11:15 PM ^
Needed to be said. Well done.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:22 PM ^
Not too hard to look good with the offensive talent he's had...if he can turn 5'8" white guys into the best receiver in the country again then watch out B1G.
January 5th, 2012 at 11:27 PM ^
Wes Welker is the best receiver in the NFL?
I'd like a word with you.
Signed,
January 6th, 2012 at 12:09 AM ^
I know there's gonna be a lot of biases on both sides, but Welker had 122 receptions this year, which is absolutely ridiculous. He's the best route runner in the League. Megatron is a completely different type of receivers, and I don't know if it's fair to compare the two.
January 6th, 2012 at 12:59 AM ^
I don't think there's a coach in the league would would take Welker over Megatron.
January 6th, 2012 at 1:47 AM ^
Welker also benefits from a shit ton of WR screens.
I'd never take Welker over 'Tron.
January 6th, 2012 at 1:16 AM ^
He isn't even the best receiver on his team.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:24 PM ^
Can I have obscure coaches nobody else is looking at for $500, Alex?
January 5th, 2012 at 10:25 PM ^
Interesting that he jumped on PSU so fast without really seeing how the NFL HC jobs panned out. I also wonder if he'll have a huge buyout if he goes back to the NFL.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:30 PM ^
January 5th, 2012 at 10:39 PM ^
Ah makes sense. I guess the Jags were more of a token interview?
January 5th, 2012 at 10:52 PM ^
I have a feeling he will be able to negotiate a pretty favorable contract given the circumstances.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:27 PM ^
well. PSU is a good, clean program overall. The B1G needs them to be good. We need them to beat ohio on occasion too.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:36 PM ^
That program (coach and AD) covered up for a pedofile for years. Not what I would call good or clean.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:43 PM ^
PSU officials might have covered up a horrific criminal offense but that has nothing to do with the football programs cleanliness. They have had a squeaky clean football program for years. Not a hint of NCAA trouble. You have to separate the two. None of those players past or present have done anything wrong. It's all on a retired coach and a couple dumb ass administrators.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:57 PM ^
You're wrong. I don't have to separate the two. I refuse. The football coach permitted a pedofile to get away with raping boys in his locker room. That's worse than any damn NCAA infractions.
January 5th, 2012 at 11:18 PM ^
The police blotter in Happy Valley has been a little more full than it used to be with that program. It's been teetering before it got knocked down.
January 5th, 2012 at 11:07 PM ^
If they could cover that up for so long, who knows what else they might have done?