Head Coach Bill O’Brien, the Newest Penn Stater

I woke up early today with the realization that Joe Paterno and Penn State are no longer one and the same. I know they haven’t been for two months now. I know. I guess reading the release from Joe Paterno (classy, by the way) made it actually register. Tom Bradley will most likely not be on the sidelines calling his base 4-3, bend-but-not-break, cover 2, sometimes 3 defense with Joe looking on, grumpily. The comfortability aspect with Penn State is now gone. Change is not always bad, but it is often scary. I mean…I’m not

scared

…for the record, I’m just saying.

Today, at 11:30 EST, Penn State will announce it’s 15th head coach in it’s 125 year history. Much of the sports world will be tuned in to watch this transition which is the official end of an era. It’s not exactly the transition we envisioned a few months ago, but life rarely goes as expected. (cliché alert!) You have to play the cards you’re dealt, and that is what Penn State has done. Lou Holtz was on TV last night and said something that has stuck with me. We don’t know how much of a choice Penn State had in this hire. What we do know, is that O’Brien DID have a choice. He did not have to leave Tom Brady and the Patriots. He chose us. He chose Penn State when many chose to turn away. For that, I am and will continue to be grateful.

I don’t want this to be a soapbox session, but I feel that people have many questions, and that we can actually answer most of them now. Of course, BoB can’t go out today and coach a game. He doesn’t get a chance to win a game until Ohio University visits Beaver Stadium on September 1st. He damn well better win then, but in the meantime, he can’t silence all of the critics. Once the season starts, I will be watching him closely. Until then, I will probably be urging others to give him a chance.

People often point to his past jobs to discount his credibility. Fair enough, I suppose, but think rationally. Yes, Duke had a poor record when he was there six years ago. They have had a poor record since then, and before then, also. On top of that, step back and think for a minute about how much you have learned at YOUR current job since 2006. Were you even out of school yet? We don’t have much of a choice, but it’s not always fair to judge someone from what they did 5 years ago. I was not yet a parent 5 years ago. I have changed a LOT since Bill O’Brien left Duke. Most recently, he has been performing more than admirably in New England. He has moved up through the ranks to become the offensive coordinator of an explosive, division winning team in the Patriots. I realize that he is fortunate enough to be working with Tom Brady, but if you discount his accomplishments based on his current surroundings, don’t dare bring up Duke without the same footnote. Bill O’Brien played in the defensive front seven in college, then went on to coach RBs, WRs, and QBs along with being an offensive coordinator. You don’t often coach on the opposite side of the ball from where you played unless you know a little bit about football. By all accounts, Bill knows football. I’m actually looking forward to a guy who has coached offense at the highest level coming into Penn State and working with some of our skill players. Let me ask you another question, if your kid was a 17 year old high school quarterback, would you not be interested in sending him to play for a guy who recently left helped Tom Brady to a 5000 yard, 39 touchdown season?

Many people are nervous about O’Brien because he isn’t a “Penn Stater.” Let me remind you that there was a time when you and I were also NOT Penn Staters. But now, WE ARE. We now love Penn State. You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t. Bill O’Brien deserves to be a Penn Stater as much as you or I once did. It’s our responsibility, as Kerry Collins said, to show BoB what it means to be a Penn Stater. It’s time to embrace our next head football coach and support him in his quest to return our football program to greatness. It’s time to be PENN STATE!

Make sure to follow me on twitter @PSUTimm for updates from the press conference along with any news regarding the coaching staff going forward.

Also LIKE us on Facebook for additional news and conversation:

As always, you can contact me at PSUTimm@gmail.com with any questions.