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====Response to sanctions====
====Response to sanctions====
Due to the [[Penn State child sex abuse scandal]], on July 24, 2012 the [[National Collegiate Athletics Association]] (NCAA) sanctioned Penn State with a four-year postseason ban, and loss of 40 scholarships over a four-year period.
Due to the [[Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal]], on July 24, 2012 the [[National Collegiate Athletics Association]] (NCAA) sanctioned Penn State with a four-year postseason ban, and loss of 40 scholarships over a four-year period.


In light of these NCAA sanctions, O'Brien issued the following statement:
In light of these NCAA sanctions, O'Brien issued the following statement:

Revision as of 15:03, 21 June 2013

Bill O'Brien
O'Brien in April 2012
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamPenn State University
ConferenceBig Ten
Record8–4
Biographical details
Born (1969-10-23) October 23, 1969 (age 54)
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Alma materBrown University
Playing career
Position(s)Defensive end, linebacker
Head coaching record
Overall8–4
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2012)
Big Ten Coach of the Year (2012)
Maxwell Coach of the Year (2012)
AT&T-ESPN Coach of the Year (2012)

Bill O'Brien (born October 23, 1969) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. He was hired in 2012 to take over a program that had just endured the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. In his first season as head coach, he led the team to an 8-4 record and won ESPN's National Coach of the Year award.

O'Brien began his coaching career in 1993 with Brown before spending more than a decade coaching in the ACC. He joined the New England Patriots in 2007 where he eventually served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 2011. After the 2012 season, O'Brien garnered significant interest to return to the National Football League (NFL) as a head coach and interviewed with both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns. Ultimately, O'Brien decided to stay at Penn State citing that it would send a poor message to leave after just one season. O'Brien is Irish Catholic.[1]

Playing career

After graduating from St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts, O'Brien attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he played defensive end and linebacker for the Bears from 1990–92.

Coaching career

College assistant

O'Brien's first coaching position was at Brown, where he coached tight ends in 1993 then inside linebackers in 1994. He would then spend the next three seasons (1995–1997) as an offensive graduate assistant at Georgia Tech.

He then coached the Yellow Jackets' running backs from the 1998 season through 2000 season. In 1999, RB Sean Gregory ran for 837 yards with 6 TD. In 2000, RB Joe Burns would run for 908 yards with 12 TD.

From 2001 to 2002, O'Brien served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and was named an assistant head coach for the 2002 season. In 2002 Bill was hired as Notre Dame's offensive Coordinator before George O'Leary was dismissed. As offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech in 2001 and 2002, his teams averaged 31 and 21.5 points per game, respectively as the teams went 9–4 and 7–6.[2][3] In 2001, RB Joe Burns would run for 1,165 yards with 14 TD and QB George Godsey would throw for 3,085 yards with 18 TD. In 2002 under Chan Gailey, RB Tony Hollings would run for 633 yards with 11 TD and WR Kerry Watkins would get 1,050 yards and 5 TD.

In 2003, he left to coach running backs at the University of Maryland, where he spent two seasons. In 2003, RB Josh Allen would run for 922 yards with 8 TD while Bruce Perry would run for 713 yards and 6 TD.

As offensive coordinator at Duke in 2005 and 2006, his teams averaged 16.1 and 14.9 points per game.[4] In 2006, QB Thaddeus Lewis would throw for 2,134 yards with 11 TD.

New England Patriots

After two seasons with Duke, O'Brien was hired by the New England Patriots on February 27, 2007 as an offensive assistant.[5] On February 21, 2008, O'Brien was promoted to wide receivers coach.[6] He became the quarterbacks coach and offensive play-caller following the 2008 season after the departure of quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in February 2011.

The Patriots gave the Jacksonville Jaguars permission to interview O'Brien for their head coaching vacancy during the Patriots' playoff bye week; O'Brien was scheduled for an interview, but never actually interviewed for the job.[7] Instead, O'Brien interviewed with Penn State staff on January 5, 2012,[8] was offered the head coach position, and signed a four-year contract to become the Nittany Lions' coach.[9] O'Brien continued as New England's offensive coordinator through Super Bowl XLVI.

Penn State

O'Brien was hired as Penn State’s 15th head football coach, replacing Joe Paterno, who was also a Brown alumnus.[10] He was introduced as the head coach at a press conference on January 7, 2012.[11]

Response to sanctions

Due to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, on July 24, 2012 the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) sanctioned Penn State with a four-year postseason ban, and loss of 40 scholarships over a four-year period.

In light of these NCAA sanctions, O'Brien issued the following statement:

"Today we receive a very harsh penalty from the NCAA and as head coach of the Nittany Lions football program, I will do everything in my power to not only comply, but help guide the University forward to become a national leader in ethics, compliance and operational excellence. I knew when I accepted the position that there would be tough times ahead. But I am committed for the long term to Penn State and our student athletes.

I was then and I remain convinced that our student athletes are the best in the country. I could not be more proud to lead this team and these courageous and humble young men into the upcoming 2012 season. Together we are committed to building a better athletic program and university".[11]

Because of a clause in his contract, O'Brien received an automatic four-year extension which guaranteed an extra year for every year of sanctions put on the program.[11]

2012

In his first game as Penn State's head coach, the Nittany Lions lost to the Ohio University Bobcats, 24–14. O'Brien's first win as the Penn State head coach took place on September 15, 2012, with a 34–7 win against the United States Naval Academy at Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA. Despite the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal, his first season as coach at Penn State was far more successful than anticipated, and resulted in a final record of 8-4. O'Brien collected the most wins for a 1st year head coach in school history, and was awarded Big Ten Coach of the Year on November 27th, 2012.[11]

O'Brien was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by both the media and the coaches.[12] On December 8, 2012, O'Brien was named the national coach of the year by ESPN.[13][14] On January 17, 2013, O'Brien was awarded the 2012 Paul "Bear" Bryant College Coach of the Year Award.[15]

NFL interest

In January 2013, O'Brien interviewed for the head coaching position with the Cleveland Browns[16] and Philadelphia Eagles. However, he decided to remain at Penn State, stating: "I’m not a one-and-done guy. I made a commitment to these players at Penn State and that’s what I am going to do. I’m not gonna cut and run after one year, that’s for sure."[17]

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Penn State Nittany Lions (Big Ten Conference) (2012–present)
2012 Penn State 8–4 6–2 2nd (Leaders) ‡ ‡ ‡
2013 Penn State 0–0 0–0 (Leaders) ‡ ‡ ‡
Penn State: 8–4 6–2 ‡ Ineligible for Big Ten title, bowl game and Coaches' Poll
Total: 8–4
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References

  1. ^ "Bill O'Brien - Penn State-Wisconsin postgame – YouTube". www.youtube.com. November 24, 2012. Retrieved 2013-19-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ "2001 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. April 19, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  3. ^ "Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2002 Football Schedule". Nationalchamps.net. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  4. ^ Crow, Alfie. "Who is Bill O'Brien? A look at Potential Penn State Football Coach's Resume". SB Nation. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  5. ^ Reiss, Mike (February 27, 2007). "O'Brien hired". Boston.com Reiss' Pieces. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
  6. ^ Reiss, Mike (February 21, 2008). "Pats hire Capers". Boston.com Reiss' Pieces. Retrieved February 21, 2007.
  7. ^ Rodak, Mike (February 8, 2012). "Jaguars get permission to interview O'Brien – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston". ESPN. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  8. ^ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203471004577143671108886082.html. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) [dead link]
  9. ^ "Sources: Bill O'Brien to coach Penn St". ESPN. January 6, 2012.
  10. ^ "Penn State hires Bill O'Brien as coach". ESPN. January 6, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  11. ^ a b c d "Penn State Selects Bill O'Brien To Lead Football Program". Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. January 7, 2012. Cite error: The named reference "intropc" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  12. ^ Moyer, Josh. "O'Brien sweeps B1G COY awards". PSU Nittany Lions Blog - ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  13. ^ "Mauti, O'Brien win national honors". BlueWhiteIllustrated.com. Stats, LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  14. ^ Kaplan, Emily (December 8, 2012). "Penn State's Bill O'Brien named top coach, Mike Mauti a first team All-American per ESPN AT&T". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  15. ^ "Bill O'Brien wins 'Bear' Bryant Award". ESPN.com. January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Smith, Michael David. "Browns have already interviewed Bill O'Brien". NBCSports.com. ProFootballTalk. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  17. ^ Taylor, John. "O'Brien staying at Penn State". NBCSports.com. CollegeFootballTalk. Retrieved January 4, 2013.

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