Bill O'Brien Getting Thrown Under A Bus

[RobertWeathers]

It is funny that Nick Saban's name comes up just when Josh MacDaniels and Bill O'Brian are in the news. I have a suspicion based on nothing at all, no inside information whatever, that Nick Saban is the inside choice to replace Bill Belichick whenever he decides to hang it up.

He has had the equivalent of Bill's Cleveland Browns failing experience, at Miami, and learned from it. He has been a very successful chief executive, and Head Coach at fabled SEC powers LSU and Bama, producing continuing winning seasons, and also national titles at both. Those combined qualities would appeal to Bob Kraft.

He obviously is a good judge of talent. And he has proven he can resurrect a former power LSU and can extinguish the memory of a hallowed forbear, in the form of Bear Bryant at Alabama, something any follow on Coach would have to confront at the Patriots.

Maybe but depending on how antsy hes gets for a promotion, Nick Caserio has the inside track on that position as he has coaching and FO experience. In addition, I think Bob Kraft would want final say on who heads up his billion dollar business.

 

[cincipatsfan]

Yes, I have, and outsiders are frequently frowned upon unless they are 'big' names. Thus, while a guy like a Nick Saban could be welcomed at _____ college, a guy like BOB won't get that same treatment.


This is pretty much S.O.P. at a lot of colleges/universities.

So true and one of the reasons you go for a big name is recruiting. How in the hell is O'Brien going to be competitive in attracting top talent with a guy like Urban Meyer in his backyard. If you can't recruit, you're dead before you get started.

If PSU had to go outside, and I believe they needed to, they should have gone for a big name.

 

[PatriotsReign]

Utterly appalled by all the BOB critics. Almost everyone on ESPN college game day says it's a terrible hire by Penn State. Plus all the former Penn State players and Alums saying he's "clueless." They would prefer someone in-house. But wouldn't it make more sense to bring someone from outside who has no ties to Penn State or the Sandusky thing?

I think BOB is going to do really well. Penn State has been a crummy program for a long time now.

Here's to BOB calling a great playoffs and telling the world what a great offensive mind he is and shutting up Lavar Arrington and all the other losers.

I really don't care about BOB once he leaves the Pats. I don't wish him success at Penn State just as I didn't care if McDaniels, Mangini or Crennel succeeded after leaving. I don't wish ill upon any of them either...I just don't care.

I am a New England Patriots FOOTBALL fan. To me, it's all about the games, not all the side-shows of the NFL. I'd never follow any player's "Tweets" or any of that meaningless stuff. I don't scramble to call police departments in Florida when one of our players get's in trouble to see if I can find out what happened (see R. Moss) either. That's not football.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

It is funny that Nick Saban's name comes up just when Josh MacDaniels and Bill O'Brian are in the news. I have a suspicion based on nothing at all, no inside information whatever, that Nick Saban is the inside choice to replace Bill Belichick whenever he decides to hang it up.

He has had the equivalent of Bill's Cleveland Browns failing experience, at Miami, and learned from it. He has been a very successful chief executive, and Head Coach at fabled SEC powers LSU and Bama, producing continuing winning seasons, and also national titles at both. Those combined qualities would appeal to Bob Kraft.

He obviously is a good judge of talent. And he has proven he can resurrect a former power LSU and can extinguish the memory of a hallowed forbear, in the form of Bear Bryant at Alabama, something any follow on Coach would have to confront at the Patriots.

Not sure if all those are indicative of sarcasm, but I hope so. Saban is likely about as far off Bob's radar for Bill's post as Eric is - and both for the same reason, loyalty and trust. After the way he conducted himself in Miami, which has zero correlation to Cleveland, he proved himself to be an insecure, thoroughly self absorbed, thin skinned, unaccountable quitter. That's the last guy you tap to replace a guy who is basically scheme brilliance aside his anthesis. The only commonality between Bill and Nick is both are acknowledged as great schematic defensive minds. Bill's grasp of the business of the game and the game itself at this level, where he spent his entire career, and his mental toughness as well as mental acuity as underscored by his thirty plus year dogged climb up the Mr. Rushmore of NFL franchise/championship team builders, is what seperates him from all the mere schematic geniuses who impatiently dabble and fail at the same level. Bill has the capacity to adapt to his environment while maintaining the courage of his convictions even under duress. That track record coupled with his understanding of the business aspects of managing a roster and organization under the auspices of a cap is what drew Kraft to him and allowed them to forge a partnership that endures.

Egocentric guys like Saban (and Eric) will always rationalize and do what they perceive to be in their own best immediate self interest - which is why they can never be trusted. Their loyalty is to self preservation.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

So true and one of the reasons you go for a big name is recruiting. How in the hell is O'Brien going to be competitive in attracting top talent with a guy like Urban Meyer in his backyard. If you can't recruit, you're dead before you get started.

If PSU had to go outside, and I believe they needed to, they should have gone for a big name.

None of those guys were answering their calls.

I guess on some level you have to admire BOB for having the stones to persue this path. I just fail to see any rational explanation for why he made that choice. His stated goal was to become a HC in the NFL. Unless he'd already concluded that was an unattainable goal barring some longshot success on a whole other level. Good luck with that.

Perhaps it boiled down to having worked with college players for many years he simply decided that was preferable to working with professional players, many of whom are difficult to reach and even more difficult to impact because having made it this far their egos are inflated and they are often making more money and wield more contractual clout at times than their coaches do. I think he and Tom were fine, but largely due to the kind of consumate pro Tom is. Not everyone on even our roster is that kind of guy... In other organizations where the bottom line is viewed differently...the tail often wags the dog and it's often easier to jettison the coach. He and Moss supposedly didn't have any love loss...but eventually Moss was jettisoned. Perhaps for every guy who gets it there was another getting under his skin for tuning him out or seemingly being unreachable and yet it remains your job as a coach to reach or salvage their potential.

One of the many differences in coaching at this level (in general as opposed to here) vs. the college level is the power of head coaches to effect change. Often times in the pros if you or someone above you makes a mistake you are forced, at least for a time, to live with it. Not everyone can mentally adapt to that circumstance yet it is daily reality at this level. Maybe BOB decided that wasn't really the career path he wanted to persue after all.

 

[State]

Billy is leaving the Patriots as the offensive coordinator with HOF QB Tom Brady and a highly productive offensive to coach QB Matt McCloin and PSU's anemic offense?

Talk about high risk. Talk about egocentric.

He better bring his A game as coordinator with the Pats. I think this affects his performance to the detriment of this professional organization.

 

[RobertWeathers]

None of those guys were answering their calls.

I guess on some level you have to admire BOB for having the stones to persue this path. I just fail to see any rational explanation for why he made that choice. His stated goal was to become a HC in the NFL. Unless he'd already concluded that was an unattainable goal barring some longshot success on a whole other level. Good luck with that.

Perhaps it boiled down to having worked with college players for many years he simply decided that was preferable to working with professional players, many of whom are difficult to reach and even more difficult to impact because having made it this far their egos are inflated and they are often making more money and wield more contractual clout at times than their coaches do. I think he and Tom were fine, but largely due to the kind of consumate pro Tom is. Not everyone on even our roster is that kind of guy... In other organizations where the bottom line is viewed differently...the tail often wags the dog and it's often easier to jettison the coach. He and Moss supposedly didn't have any love loss...but eventually Moss was jettisoned. Perhaps for every guy who gets it there was another getting under his skin for tuning him out or seemingly being unreachable and yet it remains your job as a coach to reach or salvage their potential.

One of the many differences in coaching at this level (in general as opposed to here) vs. the college level is the power of head coaches to effect change. Often times in the pros if you or someone above you makes a mistake you are forced, at least for a time, to live with it. Not everyone can mentally adapt to that circumstance yet it is daily reality at this level. Maybe BOB decided that wasn't really the career path he wanted to persue after all.

Not only that but his contract was up and he needed a job. We don't know what kind of negotiations were occurring between the Pats and BOB. My assumption is that BB was not putting a lucrative offer in front of BOB to stay. I assume that BB wanted BOB to stay on, but BBs philosophy is not to overpay his assistants.

As anyone can relate to having a family with a stay-at-home mom, the husband/father's #1 priority is to make sure he finds a balance between providing and improving life for his family but also ensuring that his professional career stays on an upward trajectory.

BOB saw his options. Work out a deal with NE. Be a HC with another NFL team or be a HC at the college ranks. With that said, my assumption is that he could cut a deal with BB but with NFL teams not having strong interest or situations that were not ideal, he saw PSU as a high-risk, high-reward opportunity with the worst case scenario being that if PSU was a disaster he would be a HC at a lesser college program or go back to being an OC in the NFL with a pay increase over what he was making in NE.

 

[BelizePats]

Thi is really a no win situation for BOB and I'm surprised he actually too this job. Following JoPa is impossible and then you add the scandal on top of that, failure is the only ouotcome I can see for him. I hope he's getting well paid and has a good financial planner in place. I'd be shocked if he lasts 3 years!

 

[cincipatsfan]

None of those guys were answering their calls.

I guess on some level you have to admire BOB for having the stones to persue this path. I just fail to see any rational explanation for why he made that choice. His stated goal was to become a HC in the NFL. Unless he'd already concluded that was an unattainable goal barring some longshot success on a whole other level. Good luck with that.

Perhaps it boiled down to having worked with college players for many years he simply decided that was preferable to working with professional players, many of whom are difficult to reach and even more difficult to impact because having made it this far their egos are inflated and they are often making more money and wield more contractual clout at times than their coaches do. I think he and Tom were fine, but largely due to the kind of consumate pro Tom is. Not everyone on even our roster is that kind of guy... In other organizations where the bottom line is viewed differently...the tail often wags the dog and it's often easier to jettison the coach. He and Moss supposedly didn't have any love loss...but eventually Moss was jettisoned. Perhaps for every guy who gets it there was another getting under his skin for tuning him out or seemingly being unreachable and yet it remains your job as a coach to reach or salvage their potential.

One of the many differences in coaching at this level (in general as opposed to here) vs. the college level is the power of head coaches to effect change. Often times in the pros if you or someone above you makes a mistake you are forced, at least for a time, to live with it. Not everyone can mentally adapt to that circumstance yet it is daily reality at this level. Maybe BOB decided that wasn't really the career path he wanted to persue after all.

I think for the right money, some may have ultimately said yes....but I agree, you do have to admire him for taking this on. Hopefully it had something to do with this being a very high risk/reward situation if he turns it around, rather than just for the bucks. This program is going to be under a microscope for a lot of years to come. Unless, or course, they start winning big. Then memories will fade quickly.

 

[PatsDeb]

REading through this thread and the negative comments made by former Penn State players astounds me. They should talk to the outside world to see how their football program is perceived right now. Hiring from within would have just prolonged the scandal and made them an even bigger fraud than they were last week. I can't believe they can't see that. I don't really follow college football, but haven't a lot of people wanted to put Joe Pa out to pasture for a few years now even before the scandal broke?

They should be saying, "Thank God the school went out and hired a quality coach so we can start moving on and rebuilding our great football program. Recruits please come! We've been saved!"

Idiots under the spell of the cult of the leader. Wow.

 

[upstater1]

So true and one of the reasons you go for a big name is recruiting. How in the hell is O'Brien going to be competitive in attracting top talent with a guy like Urban Meyer in his backyard. If you can't recruit, you're dead before you get started.

If PSU had to go outside, and I believe they needed to, they should have gone for a big name.

Nick Saban was nobody before taking his first job, Ferentz the same way. You have to start somewhere. Tressel, Hoke, etc.

Few established names switch spots. Meyer is a rarity.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Utterly appalled by all the BOB critics. Almost everyone on ESPN college game day says it's a terrible hire by Penn State. Plus all the former Penn State players and Alums saying he's "clueless." They would prefer someone in-house. But wouldn't it make more sense to bring someone from outside who has no ties to Penn State or the Sandusky thing?

I think BOB is going to do really well. Penn State has been a crummy program for a long time now.

Here's to BOB calling a great playoffs and telling the world what a great offensive mind he is and shutting up Lavar Arrington and all the other losers.

Actually, the head of the Penn State athletes alumni association ("Lettermen" or something like that) said that the majority of their members supported the hire; it's only a few loudmouths who are saying otherwise.

The subtext here is that most Penn State supporters are pissed off that none of the available, high profile coaching candidates wanted to touch Happy Valley with a ten foot pole after the Paterno/Sandusky mess; most of BOB's "competition" was even lower profile than he is/was. They had visions/delusions of a Gruden or Nick Saban taking the job after Saint Joe.

 

[upstater1]

Not only that but his contract was up and he needed a job. We don't know what kind of negotiations were occurring between the Pats and BOB. My assumption is that BB was not putting a lucrative offer in front of BOB to stay. I assume that BB wanted BOB to stay on, but BBs philosophy is not to overpay his assistants.

As anyone can relate to having a family with a stay-at-home mom, the husband/father's #1 priority is to make sure he finds a balance between providing and improving life for his family but also ensuring that his professional career stays on an upward trajectory.

BOB saw his options. Work out a deal with NE. Be a HC with another NFL team or be a HC at the college ranks. With that said, my assumption is that he could cut a deal with BB but with NFL teams not having strong interest or situations that were not ideal, he saw PSU as a high-risk, high-reward opportunity with the worst case scenario being that if PSU was a disaster he would be a HC at a lesser college program or go back to being an OC in the NFL with a pay increase over what he was making in NE.

The Patriots were likely going to pay him a third of what PSU will pay him. Given concerns with his kid, he went for the mega money.

 

[cincipatsfan]

Nick Saban was nobody before taking his first job, Ferentz the same way. You have to start somewhere. Tressel, Hoke, etc.

Few established names switch spots. Meyer is a rarity.

True but not quite the same situations. O'Brien is walking into a ****storm.

 

[upstater1]

Actually, the head of the Penn State athletes alumni association ("Lettermen" or something like that) said that the majority of their members supported the hire; it's only a few loudmouths who are saying otherwise.

The subtext here is that most Penn State supporters are pissed off that none of the available, high profile coaching candidates wanted to touch Happy Valley with a ten foot pole after the Paterno/Sandusky mess; most of BOB's "competition" was even lower profile than he is/was.

I would not be so sure about this. While the big prizes like Munchak were never available, they said they had a certain number of head coach applicants. But just because the Goldens and Schianos were available, it doesn't mean they are good choices. I read that Ron Jaworski is good friends with Ira Lubert, a key search committee member, and that Jaworski steered the committee toward O'Brien after Munchak was a no go.

 

[upstater1]

True but not quite the same situations. O'Brien is walking into a ****storm.

To the contrary, PSU is not the sort of place that goes all out insane for winning. They will give him plenty of time to right the program. This isn't Notre Dame or the SEC. He has at least 5 years.

Recruiting is a key concern because of the scandal and kids not wanting to go there, but if the Patriots win the Super Bowl, it will help to have this guy show up in living rooms to talk to top WRs and QBs. A kid with better options may go elsewhere, but if they're competing with North Carolina or Wisconsin for recruits, some of these kids will elect the pro style offense and Super Bowl OC over the competition.

The key is recruiting since the PSU image is hurt, but O'Brien could sell himself as a gun for offense, and that sells.

 

[scout]

REading through this thread and the negative comments made by former Penn State players astounds me. They should talk to the outside world to see how their football program is perceived right now. Hiring from within would have just prolonged the scandal and made them an even bigger fraud than they were last week. I can't believe they can't see that. I don't really follow college football, but haven't a lot of people wanted to put Joe Pa out to pasture for a few years now even before the scandal broke?

They should be saying, "Thank God the school went out and hired a quality coach so we can start moving on and rebuilding our great football program. Recruits please come! We've been saved!"

Idiots under the spell of the cult of the leader. Wow.

In some ways, the title should be "dumb jocks sway sports fans". In another thread I stated that O'Brien would probably take this job. Everyone is emphasizing that the football program is in trouble and the alumni "want" a Penn State grad. Honestly, I don't see this as a football problem anymore. Penn State stepped up to the plate and fired arguably the most recognized football coach in college history. They even took down his statue. Closure will occur for a lot of people when the steel door clangs shut on Sandusky. Some members stated O'Brien will be gone in three years. Maybe, but he will have earned some big-time recognition. Anyone want to guess how many titles Ohio State will win in the next three years? Yet, no mention of Myers making a bad decision. You could sense a difference in the first game after Paterno was fired. The players had a moment of silence, the fans honored the victims, and the program moved forward. Penn State has lost some recruits and will not get the commitments they enjoyed in recent history. But, they just signed a head coach with no Penn State affiliation who coached Tom F'ning Brady. Game on.

 

[RobertWeathers]

To the contrary, PSU is not the sort of place that goes all out insane for winning. They will give him plenty of time to right the program. This isn't Notre Dame or the SEC. He has at least 5 years.

You are underestimating the patience the PSU board of governors has. In 2010, PSU's football program pulled in $56m in PROFIT alone making it 2nd of all BCS teams. BOBs job is to win and generate revenue/profit by being the face of that football program- one that needs a major facelift. His priorities are as follows...

I don't think he has 5 years. He has 3. Year 1- stabilize Year 2- show progress Year 3 win big and ensure that the profit is the same as it was in 2010.

 

[upstater1]

You are underestimating the patience the PSU board of governors has. In 2010, PSU's football program pulled in $56m in PROFIT alone making it 2nd of all BCS teams. BOBs job is to win and generate revenue/profit by being the face of that football program- one that needs a major facelift. His priorities are as follows...

I don't think he has 5 years. He has 3. Year 1- stabilize Year 2- show progress Year 3 win big and ensure that the profit is the same as it was in 2010.

The top guys are on record saying that football is going to take a step down in terms of the school's emphasis. And any losses from that $50 million can be easily offset from the school's entire AD budget which is in the $100 million range. Couple that with increased TV revs from the BigTenNetwork which are kicking in this year, and I don't think they have financial concerns. This is not a school that charges students fees or gives direct financial support to athletics, like 100 or more other football schools in D1. The mentality there is that the academic side has a lot more to lose from being tarred with the stigma of the scandal than the football side has to lose by not winning football games. We're talking about a school with a $4 billion budget and lots of alumni contributions, lots of research money, very little state support (4% of the budget). They are very concerned about losses to the $4 billion, much less about losses of the $50 million. Consider, a wing of the library at PSU is named the Paterno Library, and one of their most well known professors is the Joseph and Susan Paterno Chair.

The big problem PSU has right now is with its faculty which has lost faith in its administration and the board of trustees. They are calling for wholesale changes. They don't even have a permanent president or AD. There is going to be a lot of turmoil, but I'm telling you that O'Brien's performance is going to be one of the least concerns for the next several years.

Remember, Paterno had 4 losings seasons in 5 in the last decade and they kept making money.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

watching BOB's press conference. His first impression seems like a strong one.