Penn State Set to Hire New England Patriots Assistant as Head Coach

Multiple media outlets are reporting that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and Penn State have come to an agreement for O’Brien to replace legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno.

O’Brien joined New England in 2007 after 14 seasons as a college assistant. He previously coached at Duke, Maryland and Georgia Tech. He also played football at Brown, which happens to be Paterno’s alma mater.

Paterno was fired November 9^th amid child sex abuse charges against retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

O’Brien has the tall task of replacing the winningest coach in division 1 football history, with 409 victories.

O’Brien has never served as a head coach, and the Penn State job will be about more than just coaching football. O’Brien has to reunite a fan base whose feathers are already ruffled that he is not considered a “Penn State guy.” Even if he brings a championship to Penn State, he is going to be living in Joe Paterno’s shadow for quite some time.