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| Photo creds to CBS Sports |
On January 1st, 2012, my parents and I were on the road. We were headed home, after watching Duquesne's basketball team take on Houston Baptist and spending New Year's Eve in downtown Pittsburgh. It was a football Sunday, so we tuned our car radio into the games on the ride. During halftime of one of the games, I heard a report that my beloved Penn State Nittany Lions were on the verge of hiring a new football coach for the first time since 1966. His name was Bill O'Brien. My first thought upon hearing this was; who the hell is Bill O'Brien?
O'Brien's resume was one that seemed to fit a man willing to go to a place rocked with the biggest scandal in the history of sports just two months prior. He did have 18 years of college and pro coaching experience, but most of his stops were at lesser known places (Georiga Tech, Duke, Maryland, etc.), and thus, O'Brien was a lesser known name in the coaching world. His biggest coaching was his most recent one, which was in Foxborough, Mass as Bill Belichick's Offensive Coordinator. But that was just for one year, and how much credit should a man receive for "coaching" Tom Terrific? It is no stretch to say that before Penn State hired this man, Bill O'Brien's biggest claim to fame before taking the Penn State job was a shouting match with Brady that cameras caught. So, as can be inferred, the name Bill O'Brien did not conjure up a bubbly feeling in my stomach.
About three weeks passed, and O'Brien was officially the man in Happy Valley. I remember waking up for school one cold morning, and, as I always did in the winter, watching Sportscenter and drinking hot chocolate. On this morning, ESPN did a segment on O'Brien and Penn State. I don't remember the details of it, as it was almost five years ago and I cannot find the segment anywhere online. But the important thing that I remember from it is that it was practically a requiem for the Blue and White. The gist of it was; how sad is it that a longtime blue blood of the sport wound up with such a random guy like O'Brien? The segment was harsh, but I can't say I disagreed with it at the time. As winter turned to spring, I thought less and less about Penn State or football, in general, every day, and moved on with my life at West Allegheny Middle School. That was, until July 23rd, 2012.
On this date, as a result of the findings of the infamous "Freeh Report," Penn State was rocked with the hardest NCAA sanctions since SMU's "Death Penalty" in the late 80s. For four long years, Penn State would never be allowed to play in a bowl game and lost millions of dollars and several scholarships to go with it. Yikes. In the month that followed, I tried to keep a positive attitude, focusing on the Pittsburgh Pirates and their division title pursuit. But in the back of my mind, I had images from ESPN's "Pony Excess" of SMU getting torched for the next 20 years following their "Death Penality," and feared the same would happen to Penn State. As for the no-name head coach, well, it sure looked like he had bought himself a ticket to hell. Sure, Penn State's seniors took a stand in an attempt to rally the program together. But really, how good was this team going to be? Would Penn State ever return to the glory of old?
Well, after the first two weeks of the 2012 season, things looked pretty crappy. The Lions started 0-2, with both of their losses against less than stiff competition in Ohio (at home) and at Virginia. Well, here we go. Time to watch this whole thing blow up before our eyes for the next 20 years or so. Then, something funny happened on the way to the funeral.
Penn State started to win, and look pretty good doing it. The Nittany Lions won eight of their last ten remaining games, with notable victories over Iowa, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. The Northwestern win on October 6th at Beaver Stadium was particularly memorable for me, as it was the first game I had attended since everything had changed. When Matt McGloin ran into the end zone from five yards out for the winning score, it was the first time in over a year that I felt that Penn State might be ok. Not a powerhouse. Not a national title contender. But not too shabby, either.
About three weeks passed, and O'Brien was officially the man in Happy Valley. I remember waking up for school one cold morning, and, as I always did in the winter, watching Sportscenter and drinking hot chocolate. On this morning, ESPN did a segment on O'Brien and Penn State. I don't remember the details of it, as it was almost five years ago and I cannot find the segment anywhere online. But the important thing that I remember from it is that it was practically a requiem for the Blue and White. The gist of it was; how sad is it that a longtime blue blood of the sport wound up with such a random guy like O'Brien? The segment was harsh, but I can't say I disagreed with it at the time. As winter turned to spring, I thought less and less about Penn State or football, in general, every day, and moved on with my life at West Allegheny Middle School. That was, until July 23rd, 2012.
On this date, as a result of the findings of the infamous "Freeh Report," Penn State was rocked with the hardest NCAA sanctions since SMU's "Death Penalty" in the late 80s. For four long years, Penn State would never be allowed to play in a bowl game and lost millions of dollars and several scholarships to go with it. Yikes. In the month that followed, I tried to keep a positive attitude, focusing on the Pittsburgh Pirates and their division title pursuit. But in the back of my mind, I had images from ESPN's "Pony Excess" of SMU getting torched for the next 20 years following their "Death Penality," and feared the same would happen to Penn State. As for the no-name head coach, well, it sure looked like he had bought himself a ticket to hell. Sure, Penn State's seniors took a stand in an attempt to rally the program together. But really, how good was this team going to be? Would Penn State ever return to the glory of old?
Well, after the first two weeks of the 2012 season, things looked pretty crappy. The Lions started 0-2, with both of their losses against less than stiff competition in Ohio (at home) and at Virginia. Well, here we go. Time to watch this whole thing blow up before our eyes for the next 20 years or so. Then, something funny happened on the way to the funeral.
Penn State started to win, and look pretty good doing it. The Nittany Lions won eight of their last ten remaining games, with notable victories over Iowa, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. The Northwestern win on October 6th at Beaver Stadium was particularly memorable for me, as it was the first game I had attended since everything had changed. When Matt McGloin ran into the end zone from five yards out for the winning score, it was the first time in over a year that I felt that Penn State might be ok. Not a powerhouse. Not a national title contender. But not too shabby, either.
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| Raiders QB Matt McGloin owes a lot of his success to BOB. (Photo creds to Sports World Report) |
Speaking of McGloin, the walk-on from Scranton provides all the evidence in the world as to why Bill O'Brien is an excellent football mind. Before O'Brien took over at Penn State, McGloin, although a two-year starter, was a nobody. He had heart, sure, and there were stretches where he looked like he could be a good quarterback. But would anybody ever believe that a tall, scrawny, not real mobile walk-on QB without a strong arm could throw for over 3,000 yards in the Big 10? Well, thanks to the offense that O'Brien installed, which was multiple, pass happy and called "NASCAR" for the short amount of time between plays, McGloin became a star, and now, he could very well be starting for the Oakland Raiders in the NFL playoffs. How do you like that?
The next season was not as successful, as the seniors that took the stand were gone. This, along with injuries to some key starters led to an underwhelming 7-5 record. Nonetheless, the emergence of McGloin's successor, a true freshman named Christian Hackenberg, gave Penn State's fans hope that O'Brien would keep moving this program in the right direction. Then came New Year's Eve, 2013.
I remember being in Naples, Florida- which, oddly enough, is where I sit as I am writing this piece. My family was over one of our friend's part-time homes to watch the annual Times Square ball drop. In the meantime, I remember watching Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M take on Duke in the Chick-fill-A Bowl, when "Breaking News" showed up on ESPN's famed "Bottomline." The breaking news was that the man who played the biggest part in resurrecting our program was jumping to the pros, as Bill O'Brien agreed to become the head coach of the Houston Texans. Crushing.
At that moment, it was easy to have hatred and bitterness towards O'Brien, as my dad proved by stating that O'Brien was "dead to me." But it didn't take long for me to realize that there was no reason to hate O'Brien or even blame him for leaving. Yes, O'Brien only stayed for two years. Yes, it is apparent that, to O'Brien, Penn State was a "stepping stone" for him to become a head man in the National Football League. But coaching in the pros often pays better, and is always a lot less time consuming than coaching in college, so one can see why O'Brien would be so tempted to go to the next level. Besides, the good that O'Brien did in Happy Valley far outweighs him leaving Happy Valley. As we rejoice in our Lions return to the upper echelon of College Football, we need not look down on O'Brien for not staying for the long-hull, but rather thank him. A lot.
Sure, O'Brien did not singlehandedly "save" Penn State football, as players like McGloin, Michael Mauti, and Mike Zordich certainly played a significant role in keeping the Titanic from the iceberg. But had a lesser man taken the job that nobody wanted, where would this program be five years later? Nobody can be sure, but I reckon that they would not be facing off with USC on January 2nd, 2017 at the Rose Bowl.
So, as we show our Lion pride and cheer on our boys as they tangle with the "Men of Troy," it is more than appropriate to appreciate James Franklin, Joe Moorehead, Brent Pry and the fantastic job the new coaching staff has done. But as we do that, we also need to remember that without O'Brien's turnaround, Franklin's job would have been much harder, if not impossible.
Thank you, Bill O'Brien. We Are. Penn State and we are in a much better position because of you.
The next season was not as successful, as the seniors that took the stand were gone. This, along with injuries to some key starters led to an underwhelming 7-5 record. Nonetheless, the emergence of McGloin's successor, a true freshman named Christian Hackenberg, gave Penn State's fans hope that O'Brien would keep moving this program in the right direction. Then came New Year's Eve, 2013.
I remember being in Naples, Florida- which, oddly enough, is where I sit as I am writing this piece. My family was over one of our friend's part-time homes to watch the annual Times Square ball drop. In the meantime, I remember watching Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M take on Duke in the Chick-fill-A Bowl, when "Breaking News" showed up on ESPN's famed "Bottomline." The breaking news was that the man who played the biggest part in resurrecting our program was jumping to the pros, as Bill O'Brien agreed to become the head coach of the Houston Texans. Crushing.
At that moment, it was easy to have hatred and bitterness towards O'Brien, as my dad proved by stating that O'Brien was "dead to me." But it didn't take long for me to realize that there was no reason to hate O'Brien or even blame him for leaving. Yes, O'Brien only stayed for two years. Yes, it is apparent that, to O'Brien, Penn State was a "stepping stone" for him to become a head man in the National Football League. But coaching in the pros often pays better, and is always a lot less time consuming than coaching in college, so one can see why O'Brien would be so tempted to go to the next level. Besides, the good that O'Brien did in Happy Valley far outweighs him leaving Happy Valley. As we rejoice in our Lions return to the upper echelon of College Football, we need not look down on O'Brien for not staying for the long-hull, but rather thank him. A lot.
Sure, O'Brien did not singlehandedly "save" Penn State football, as players like McGloin, Michael Mauti, and Mike Zordich certainly played a significant role in keeping the Titanic from the iceberg. But had a lesser man taken the job that nobody wanted, where would this program be five years later? Nobody can be sure, but I reckon that they would not be facing off with USC on January 2nd, 2017 at the Rose Bowl.
So, as we show our Lion pride and cheer on our boys as they tangle with the "Men of Troy," it is more than appropriate to appreciate James Franklin, Joe Moorehead, Brent Pry and the fantastic job the new coaching staff has done. But as we do that, we also need to remember that without O'Brien's turnaround, Franklin's job would have been much harder, if not impossible.
Thank you, Bill O'Brien. We Are. Penn State and we are in a much better position because of you.
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