Former Penn State quarterback reunites with former Nittany Lions head coach in the ACC

Bill O'Brien is heading into his second year as the head coach of the Boston College Eagles and he's adding a familiar face to his staff in former Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin.
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Bill O'Brien (right) talks to quarterback Matt McGloin (11)
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Bill O'Brien (right) talks to quarterback Matt McGloin (11) | Evan Habeeb-Imagn Images

James Franklin ultimately returned Penn State to its place as a national power in college football. But, after Joe Paterno’s rein in Happy Valley came to an unfortunate end in 2011, his replacement, Bill O’Brien, and his walk-on quarterback, Matt McGloin, were the ones who kept the program on stable footing. 

Despite facing sanctions, O’Brien and McGloin led the Nittany Lions to a winning season with an 8-4 record in 2012 before McGloin left for the NFL in 2013 and his head coach followed a year later. Now, the two have reunited in the ACC with McGloin joining O’Brien’s staff at Boston College as an offensive analyst. 

Following his successful two-year stint in Happy Valley, O’Brien led the Houston Texans as both coach and also eventually as general manager, from 2014 until 2020. In large part due to a disastrous trade that O’Brien orchestrated, sending All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from Houston to Arizona in the prime of his career and not managing to receive a first-round pick in return, the largely successful head coach did not receive another job in the NFL. 

Instead, after a few years on offensive staffs, including as Bill Belichick’s offensive coordinator for his final season in New England, O’Brien pivoted back to the collegiate game, first intending to join Ryan Day’s staff as OC at Ohio State before former BC head coach Jeff Hafley abruptly left Chestnut Hill for Green Bay to become the Packers defensive coordinator. O’Brien jumped at the opportunity to lead a program again, and now heading into Year 2, he’s adding a familiar face to the staff. 

McGloin, who threw 24 touchdowns to just five interceptions in 2012 and won the Burlsworth Award as the nation’s top walk-on, played four seasons in the NFL, all with the Oakland Raiders from 2013 through 2016, his age 27 season. He started seven games, going 1-6, with a 1-5 record his rookie season. 

A Pennsylvania native, McGloin was elected to the Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners in November 2023 and was sworn in as vice-chairman at the start of 2024. He resigned from the board last week, presumably in anticipation of his decision to join O’Brien’s staff. 

The Eagles went 7-5 in Year 1 under O’Brien, but have a path to contention in a wide-open ACC that saw Clemson and SMU sneak into the 12-team College Football Playoff as the No. 12 and No. 11 seeds respectively. 

While they never won a game of real significance and were barred from Bowl season, O’Brien and McGloin stabilized a Penn State program that could have been on the verge of collapse. They will forever be beloved figures in Happy Valley, and now Nittany Lions fans have a new ACC team to root for.

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