Blue White Illustrated

When the Paterno era finally did come to its abrupt and devastating end, the university had no choice but to make an outside hire. And as it turns out, it might have made a great one. Whether O'Brien goes down as a transitional figure who got the program through its toughest times before moving on, or as one of the college game's leading figures may ultimately depend on what he wants. If decides he wants to stay at Penn State for the next decade or two – and the prospect of seeing what he could accomplish once the sanctions end must surely be enticing on some level – he appears entirely capable of returning the Nittany Lions to greatness. But that might not be what he wants. If it isn't, Penn Staters should take some comfort in the realization that the Nittany Lions have a lot to offer potential recruits no matter who's coaching them. They have one of the highest graduation rates in college football, first-class facilities, more than a century of tradition, the fifth-largest stadium in the world and ravenous fans who have continued to fill it to near capacity even in the face of the toughest sanctions the NCAA has ever handed down. O'Brien's accomplishment last year was to capitalize on those assets while infusing the program with a jolt of energy. He is a high-intensity guy, and one of his challenges has been to get everyone else moving at his brisk pace. While there probably won't be rioting in the streets if he were to leave – one coaching-related riot was quite enough, thank you very much – it would be far better for the university to do what it can to keep O'Brien around. If that means paying a few more people to help with recruiting or marketing, or making sure the weight room is equipped with the latest in training gear, as he has requested, so be it. There are some things money can't buy. A lever-lock hydraulic squat rack isn't one of them. Joyner: Interest in O'Brien validates search process his surely wasn't the ideal start to Dave Joyner's work week. But as Penn State's interim athletic director told a swarm of reporters in the back of the Beaver Stadium media room Jan. 7, success has its price. The price of Penn State's 8-4 finish this past season? A sudden surge of interest in the Nittany Lions' firstyear head coach, Bill O'Brien. "It's always a risk with any great coach. If people weren't talking about Bill O'Brien, then we made a JOYNER lousy hire," Joyner said. "The fact that people are talking about how great he is and what he would do at other places, to me, that's a real compliment about the process that we went through and what we did." O'Brien used the Mondaymorning presser to reaffirm his commitment to the university after a week of NFL-related uncertainty, while Joyner took the opportunity to reaffirm everything the head coach had said at the front of the room a few moments earlier. Specifically, he said that he and O'Brien have an "outstanding" working relationship, a feeling of mutual respect and open lines of communication, and that they share a vision for the football program's future. "We talk several times a week, even during the season," Joyner said. "[The coaching staff is] very busy during the season, so we pick our times carefully. … Bill T and I have meetings all the time. We have a list of things we go over, just like you always do, as we do with all our coaches. I meet with coaches on a continual basis: 'What can we do to maximize your program? How can we work together with you?' We do that all the time with all the coaches." Joyner said the so-called structural changes that have been discussed in recent weeks pertain specifically to the football program. He said the athletic department can afford to give O'Brien the additional manpower he may want in order to bolster the team's recruiting and marketing, even in the face of fiscal constraints stemming from the NCAA's $60 million fine. "We can make those improvements and do those things," Joyner said. "I'm committed to it, and Bill's committed to it, as well. … We have a lot of momentum and can get a lot of things done that will be very, very good for football." Joyner said he never developed a short list of potential candidates to succeed O'Brien, saying he was confident that the coach would choose to stay. "Bill O'Brien is committed to Penn State. I personally believe he wants to be here for a long time," Joyner said. "But life is what it is. Even with Coach Joe [Paterno], the Boston Patriots came up [to offer him their head coaching job in the early 1970s], and that was an almost-go. But I'm very confident that Bill is committed to Penn State and wants to be here for a long time." – MATT HERB

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