Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien walked into a seemingly impossible situation last season after being hired as the New Nittany Lions head coach amid some earth shattering circumstances.
O’Brien spent five successful seasons as a New England Patriots offensive assistant coach, and turned that impossible situation into and 8 win season, and a big money contract extension.
Amid speculation that O’Brien could bolt for the NFL at any time now, Penn State Athletic Director David Joyner says O’Brien will remain at Penn State for a long time, according to the Associated Press.
“First, of all I think we’re going to have this guy for a long time. I truly, truly believe that,” he said. “But whenever the day comes that Bill may choose to leave — if it’s five years from now, if it’s 10 years; he may never choose to leave, this may be his last job, I certainly hope so — then we’ll adapt and deal with it.”
The good news for Penn State is that O’Brien seems like a pretty upstanding and classy guy. The bad news is none that can necessarily prevent him from chasing the opportunity to coach a pro team sooner than later.