Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/78629
O'Brien to take a breather, was met with a quick smile and laugh. But O'Brien is asking as much of himself as he's been asking of his team and staff, and he's not complaining. He said he's been able to spend time with his family on the weekends now that his wife, Colleen, and sons Jack and Michael have joined him in the State College area. In fact, while long hours are part of the job description, his fam- ily was frequently on the sidelines at Penn State's practices this past spring, giving O'Brien an opportunity to see more of them than he did when he was offensive coordinator of the New Eng- land Patriots. Family and football are two of the driving forces in O'Brien's life. Keep- ing them in harmony is important, and a source of personal satisfaction. "There are definitely moments of satisfaction when you teach a player who has made a few mistakes and you kind of work on his technique and you watch him go out on the field and fig- ure it out," O'Brien said. "We saw a lot of that this spring. We had a couple of bad days and then we came back and taught them differently and they learned it. They went out and were able to execute it better. Those were satis- fying days. "Obviously, winning is hugely satis- fying. There aren't many things in the world better than winning. Next to your family, the best thing as a football coach is being in a winning locker room. That's a tremendous feeling. I've been in a lot of winning locker rooms, and that's a great feeling. Hopefully, we have a lot of those feelings." Impressed with the intense work eth- ic O'Brien displayed in his first three months on the job, Penn State fans who attended the tour stops were con- vinced the Nittany Lions will win their share of games in the coming years. But unlike some other coach- es, O'Brien doesn't appear to be fix- ated on a specific long-term goal, whether it's winning a Big Ten title or hoisting that familiar crystal football that is emblematic of the national championship. Those accomplish- ments might be worthy of a coach's dreams, but O'Brien prefers to dwell on the day-to-day tasks that put the big goals within reach. "I do want to win every time we step on the field, whether it's a seven-on- seven drill or a scrimmage or a game or a one-on-one drill," he said. "If I'm coaching the receiver and Coach [John] Butler is coaching the defensive back, I want to beat that coach. I want to win that drill for our players. "But I don't think about down the road. I really don't. I do look at the big picture, but I also try to say, 'OK, what are my tasks today? What do I have to get done next week? What are the things that are important that point to- ward winning and making sure that our guys are doing the right things off the field?' So I really don't get into thinking too much about the future like that." Instead, O'Brien has been thinking about the here and now. The process. Although it has not yet been deter- mined whether he will participate in a similar tour next spring, to a certain extent, this year's tour is a notable part of that process. Beyond meeting the alumni base, the fans who drive their RVs to games, along with letter- men who have supported Penn State football through the years, O'Brien said the tour would yield benefits in recruiting. "It helps to get out and do interviews like this so people can begin to know me and my vision for Penn State foot- ball, and we have a chance to attract the best student-athletes in this area and the other areas that we've been to to come to Penn State," he said. "Those are the areas that I think we wanted to address when we came upon this caravan idea." On the practice field, O'Brien is much the same, embracing the simple concept of daily improvement in every facet of the game – not only for his players but for himself. He says he loves the game. He loves the competition. He loves the end of a long practice when his play- ers are coming off the field, worn out and dirty from a hard day at work. He loves games – the tough, emotional ones in which his players walk off the field as winners. "There's no better feeling than that. That's the reason why you coach foot- ball," he said. "These guys here at Penn State, that's what I see. We had some long practices and you would watch them walking into the locker room and they're trying to figure things out and you're trying to teach them in differ- W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ent ways, but they have such a pas- sion for football that it's fun to be around these guys. "They like to laugh, they want to have fun, but at the end of the day, the best feeling is winning. That's really what we're in it for." In turn, O'Brien's successes aren't his alone. They belong to the players and assistant coaches, as well. When Penn State wins, those are the people O'Brien is going to credit for the team's success, rather than himself. Even in the midst of a tour that had been designed specifically to show off Penn State's new head coach to fans both eager and skeptical, O'Brien hesitated to talk about what makes him a good football coach. The ques- tion was simple enough, but it seemed to make him as uncomfortable as the schmoozing and dress clothes. "I work very hard. I've always been surrounded by great people," he said. "I've worked for great head coaches. I've coached a lot of great players, whether college players or obviously in the NFL, and really, at the end of the day, you have to be a good teacher, a good com- municator. You have to have a passion for what you're doing, but when you hit the field, the players have to make the plays. So, you have to give the play- ers that I've coached, the coaches that I've worked for, a ton of credit. "I'm just a hard-working guy who feels like he's a good fit for Penn State, and I'm thrilled to be here." Judging by the response so far, Penn State fans are thrilled to have him. With his steel-blue gaze and firm handshake, O'Brien is the embodiment of blue-collar hard work. Night after night, he was greeted enthusiastical- ly – maybe even more enthusiastical- ly than he had expected. "It's the first time that they've ever done this, so I'm not sure what I ex- pected. I had a feeling that a lot of peo- ple would show up to see who this guy was who was the new head coach here," he said. "But it's been great, and the people have been so supportive. There have been good questions, ed- ucated fans. They understand what they're looking at footballwise, and they have a tremendous passion for Penn State football. "It's been a really great experience, and I'm really glad we did it." N O T E B O O K Hailes forced to give up football Due to complications stem- ming from the discovery of blood clots in his lungs, red- shirt sophomore defensive tack- le Evan Hailes has been forced to end his foot- ball career. "He's had a tough situation. He had a blood clotting situa- tion, so he's go- ing to have to stop playing football," O'Brien said. "We're going to keep him on scholarship. It will be a medical scholarship, and he will still be heavily involved with the foot- ball program." O'Brien said Hailes' role with HAILES the team will be much like that of a graduate assistant. "You're allowed to have those guys, and he's a great Penn State kid," he said. "Having a full life is a whole lot more im- portant than being a football player. I'm thrilled that he's able to still be involved with the pro- gram. He's a great kid. But he's not going to be able to play any- more." Baublitz eyed as potential DT After playing his first two years at defensive end, redshirt sophomore Kyle Baublitz is go- ing to get a tryout at defensive tackle this summer. As for other potential position changes be- fore the start of preseason camp in August, O'Brien said there probably would not be many. SEE NOTEBOOK NEXT PAGE J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 1 2 29