The Penn State Football Show

There are a lot of Penn State fans that are angry with Bill O’Brien for bolting for the NFL after two years in State College. I am not one of them. I don’t blame Bill O’Brien for leaving Penn State. I really think O’Brien would have stayed if the working environment was a better one. Having an interim athletic director and President is not a very stable situation for a head football coach. I have spoken with multiple people that work in the Penn State athletic department that have complained of a lack of leadership in the department. Combine that with the fact that a large portion of Penn State donors and fans haven’t been able to get over the Sandusky scandal and are more determined to defend Paterno than to support O’Brien, and you have a very difficult position for a head coach to be in.

I think this quote from Mike Mauti is the most telling: "Let's lay it out there: he's the reason we did all this. They hire anyone else, this season doesn't happen- and who knows where the program is? He's it. If O-B leaves in the next three, four, five years, it's their fault, not his fault. It's not because of him. It would never be. It's because they didn't do their jobs and do what's right."

I will be rooting for O’Brien to succeed in Houston, and I’m interested to see if he does. I think he is a good coach, but I also didn’t see anything in the last two seasons to indicate that he’s ready for a head coaching position in the NFL. He was clearly a coach that is still learning. The team still seemed unorganized this season and struggled with clock management issues. Yes he did a good job at Penn State given the circumstances, but let’s not get carried away. In his two seasons, the team went 8-4 and 7-5. Good, but not great. There is a misconception out there that these records were attained with a lack of talented scholarship athletes due to the sanctions, but that is simply not true. Only a few starters ended up transferring after the sanctions were handed down. The 8-4 team was nearly a full roster of scholarship athletes recruited by Paterno. I think he has a bright future but I expect some struggles in his first year or two as he continues to learn.

So where does Penn State go from here? They are in a really tough spot given the fact that the coaching hire will need to be made by the interim AD and President, meaning whoever takes the job won’t even know who they will be working for in six months. That could scare some candidates away. It’s also unfortunate for whoever is named the new AD, since he/she will be stuck with a brand new football coach that he/she didn’t hire. A lot of the same names we heard two years ago are resurfacing: Schiano, Munchak, Franklin, Golden. But O’Brien emerged out of nowhere two years ago, so I expect some new names to come up soon, unless they act fast to hire Franklin or Schiano in the very near future. Here are my thoughts on these names: 

Schiano: I honestly don’t know a whole lot about Schiano. Most of the people I’ve heard from are strongly against hiring Schiano. He did an admirable job at Rutgers, and a lot of people thought he would be Paterno’s successor after they had that one big year in 06. But after that it was a bunch of 8-5, 9-4 seasons. To me, he’s just kind of a blah hire. It would be somewhat of a safe hire since I don’t see him going back to the NFL any time soon, and I don’t see him leaving Penn State for another college job. So he would probably be around for a while. But I have a feeling it would be many years of what Penn State fans would consider to be mediocrity.

Golden: Good coach that would be a good hire but I don’t think he would leave Miami right now. Why leave a school finally recovering from sanctions for a school still in the midst of the some of the strictest sanctions ever handed down.

Munchak: I like Munchak and wanted him to get the job two years ago, but not so much any more. He’s been in the NFL his entire coaching career, and even worse, it’s been with the same franchise the whole time. Which means his connections are limited, which would make things a little more difficult when putting together a coaching staff. Plus he doesn’t have any experience recruiting. I like Munchak but don’t think it’s a good fit for Penn State right now. Plus it looks like the Titans are keeping him. I doubt he would leave a franchise he’s been so loyal to for so many years after they showed faith in him by giving him another year when he could have been fired.

Franklin: Franklin has done a great job at Vandy and is highly thought of by many. It seems inevitable that he will leave for a bigger program, and given his ties to PA, Penn State makes sense. Texas is interested as well, and that would probably be a more enticing opportunity for him, unless he truly wants to get back to PA. I would be happy with this hire. But keep in mind, he and O’Brien coached at Maryland together, so I’d imagine they have a relationship. Franklin would obviously reach out to O’Brien before accepting the job. What would OB tell him about the environment at Penn State? Given what just transpired, I can’t see him recommending to Franklin that he take the job.

Roman: I’m a Niners fan and I think Roman has done a great job as the OC in San Francisco. But I don’t like him as the next head coach at Penn State. He too would be a likely candidate to bolt for an NFL job. Plus he seems like more of a great offensive mind/x’s and o’s guy than a college head coach to me.

I’m sure other names will emerge just as O'Brien's did two years ago. The timing is really tough here given the lack of stability in the Penn State administration. I understand that for recruiting purposes, it is important that a new coach is named relatively soon. However, they should not rush with this decision, as this next hire will hopefully remain the head coach at Penn State for many years. If they identify a top candidate or two, and fail to get either one, would it be beneficial to name Larry Johnson Sr. as the interim coach for a year? Then let the new AD and President handle the search for the next head coach after next season? I would prefer that over reaching for someone just to fill the position. He is well liked by the players and he is their best recruiter, so you might not see as much attrition as some might fear. I also think it would be ideal for the incoming AD to be able to hire the football coach.

Alright that’s my blog post for 2014. Happy New Year to all!