Obrien staying at PSU

[The King]

Bill Obrien is staying at PSU as expected.

[psubills62]

Good to see for PSU. Maybe not as good for Buffalo, as it reduces the pool of candidates by one.

Interestingly, a lot of credit is being given to Terry Pegula, who also was the first to contact BOB about the position in late 2011.

[Wolffman]

Pegula tossed him $1.2 mil to stay on board.

Not sure why that's worth it for him. He can't go anywhere there for years.

[psubills62]

Pegula tossed him $1.2 mil to stay on board.

Not sure why that's worth it for him. He can't go anywhere there for years.
He got more than just money. Assistants got raises, and promises were made about structural changes in the athletic department (like getting a permanent AD who isn't an a-hole like Joyner).

He'll be fine. Everyone knows what he's going to have to deal with and expectations will be low. He'll still be highly respected by NFL teams/execs each year.

[JoeMama]

If we start hiring Penn State guys, I can only assume somebody at OBD is fondling kids and needs to hire people with experience in covering it up.

I hope PSU's entire football program folds and never comes back.

[Wolffman]

He got more than just money. Assistants got raises, and promises were made about structural changes in the athletic department (like getting a permanent AD who isn't an a-hole like Joyner).

He'll be fine. Everyone knows what he's going to have to deal with and expectations will be low. He'll still be highly respected by NFL teams/execs each year.

He can't go bowling for another 3 years. By that time, the team will be so wiped out due to loss of scholarships they won't field a full team till something like 2020. Why would he take that over an NFL gig?

[psubills62]

He can't go bowling for another 3 years. By that time, the team will be so wiped out due to loss of scholarships they won't field a full team till something like 2020. Why would he take that over an NFL gig?
I don't know his motives. I could speculate, but that would be a pretty long post and really doesn't mean much. What I do know is that coaches often have a lot more reasons to stick around than just bowl games. Looking back at the situation, it appears to be primarily a power play that succeeded in a big way.

Loss of scholarships certainly makes his job tough. However, it should be noted that PSU played with ~68 scholarship players this year, which is only 3 more than what they'll have under sanctions. And almost none of the active players this year were recruited by Bill O'Brien and his staff. If he sticks around for 3-4 more years, then I have confidence with the QB's that are coming in, that PSU will stay afloat.


If we start hiring Penn State guys, I can only assume somebody at OBD is fondling kids and needs to hire people with experience in covering it up.

I hope PSU's entire football program folds and never comes back.
Good luck with that.

[sukie]

I would stay at PSU if I were in his shoes. With low expectations he has job security and is showing loyalty. He will be getting a nice paycheck for years as opposed to a potential NFL short run flop followed by unemployment.

Aside from ego... whay wouold any successful coach in college leave a cushy job for the NFL?

[JoeMama]

Good luck with that.

It's been an irrelevant football program for a long time.

I guess I can live with that as a plan B over wishing they'd just disband the whole thing.

[psubills62]

It's been an irrelevant football program for a long time.

I guess I can live with that as a plan B over wishing they'd just disband the whole thing.
:peace: Good for you.

[Wolffman]

I don't know his motives. I could speculate, but that would be a pretty long post and really doesn't mean much. What I do know is that coaches often have a lot more reasons to stick around than just bowl games. Looking back at the situation, it appears to be primarily a power play that succeeded in a big way.

Loss of scholarships certainly makes his job tough. However, it should be noted that PSU played with ~68 scholarship players this year, which is only 3 more than what they'll have under sanctions. And almost none of the active players this year were recruited by Bill O'Brien and his staff. If he sticks around for 3-4 more years, then I have confidence with the QB's that are coming in, that PSU will stay afloat.


Good luck with that.

I thought they were losing something like 10 scholarships a year?

[psubills62]

I thought they were losing something like 10 scholarships a year?
Starting with the class of 2013, they have a max incoming player limit of 15 (instead of 25). Starting in 2014, the maximum scholarship players on roster is 65. Both of these last for four years. It's not a progressive loss of scholarships that accumulates, more of a "flat" loss. So between 2014 and 2017, they'll have a max of 65 scholarship players on roster each year.

Also, there is a small possibility that the lawsuit by the state of PA could create an injunction and/or decrease the sanctions.

[TigerJ]

I've admired his accomplishments at Penn State considering the tough circumstances of the past season, but I also admired the attitude and approach he took to the Penn State job. My admiration would have taken a big hit had he walked away after one year. I know he has a perfect right to do so as long as the terms of the contract are met, but he gave the impression that the Penn State position was more than a job, that he was all in, in terms of commitment to get Penn State past the NCAA sanctions and all the Sandusky fallout. I know the Penn State program is going to struggle for a few years, but I think the strength of O'Brien's character will have some value in the post-sanction rebuilding efforts, should he stay long term.

[GingerP]

Starting with the class of 2013, they have a max incoming player limit of 15 (instead of 25). Starting in 2014, the maximum scholarship players on roster is 65. Both of these last for four years. It's not a progressive loss of scholarships that accumulates, more of a "flat" loss. So between 2014 and 2017, they'll have a max of 65 scholarship players on roster each year.

Also, there is a small possibility that the lawsuit by the state of PA could create an injunction and/or decrease the sanctions.

The inability to play in the postseason is what really hurts. If you are a kid that is heavily recruited and are going to a big program, you want to play in the conference championships and bowl games. You want to be on TV.

[Wolffman]

The inability to play in the postseason is what really hurts. If you are a kid that is heavily recruited and are going to a big program, you want to play in the conference championships and bowl games. You want to be on TV.

Also don't want to be associated with boy diddlin'.

- - - Updated - - -


Starting with the class of 2013, they have a max incoming player limit of 15 (instead of 25). Starting in 2014, the maximum scholarship players on roster is 65. Both of these last for four years. It's not a progressive loss of scholarships that accumulates, more of a "flat" loss. So between 2014 and 2017, they'll have a max of 65 scholarship players on roster each year.

Also, there is a small possibility that the lawsuit by the state of PA could create an injunction and/or decrease the sanctions.

That is a horrible and totally insane use of PA taxpayer money and government effort.

[psubills62]

The inability to play in the postseason is what really hurts. If you are a kid that is heavily recruited and are going to a big program, you want to play in the conference championships and bowl games. You want to be on TV.
PSU actually had a lot of national games this year, so no worries about being on TV. That may die down as the story does, but PSU is still on TV nonetheless.

I agree that the loss of bowl games hurts, and there will be plenty of prospects who ignore PSU because of it. However, bowl games aren't everything, and there is still a good amount of interest from other prospects. A lot of the kids who are being recruited now will have the opportunity to play in multiple bowl games, especially if they redshirt.


That is a horrible and totally insane use of PA taxpayer money and government effort.
It's an obvious political ploy by Corbett. He knows that if he kept condemning PSU, he wouldn't last another term.

What makes it ironic with your statement here is that that is the concern of the state as well. The state of PA funds gives PSU about $214m every year. All of the cash in PSU is fungible, so there is zero way of guaranteeing that none of that will be included in the $60m fine. Part of the lawsuit against the NCAA is that they want to make sure all of the $60m fine is used in the state of PA. Right now, the NCAA only says they'll use 25% of it in PA. So in the end...it's the idea of wasting taxpayers' money that is partially driving this lawsuit. Also note that if the state wins, the NCAA will pay all the lawyers fees for the state of PA. Not that I expect this to go to court.

[TigerJ]

It's an obvious political ploy by Corbett. He knows that if he kept condemning PSU, he wouldn't last another term.


What bothers me about Pennsylvania's governor is he initially made a statement essentially accepting NCAA sancions in their entirety. He's coming across as a classic two faced, flip-flopping politician. If I lived in PA that perception would affect my vote in no uncertain terms. If last summer he had made a statement like the following, I could respect him a lot more: "We accept that there were problems not only in university policy that made it possible for Gary Sandusky to perpetrate crimes against children, and that the administrative leaders of the university did not address the issue with the due diligence it deserved when evidence began coming to light. However, we think that NCAA sanctions may be excessive in view of the fact that the university itself has fully addressed the behavior of its administrative officials and put in place policies that will fully insure future accountability. Therefore, we will reserve the right to initiate a legal challenge to the sanctions if and when it is appropriate."