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What are your thoughts on Bill O'Brien now that time has passed?

Jerademan74

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Some have expressed great animosity over his decision to leave for the NFL when he did, and others have praised him for "saving" Penn State football at it's time of greatest despair. Frankly I believe he gained more from Penn State than Penn State gained from him, but I am thankful for his time served and how he handled the difficult situations he encountered.
 
No doubt he gained alot, which is fine. Major college jobs have a stepping stone built-in. We owe our program to BOB. Also JF should be thankful we didnt bottom out and flatline, allowing him to recruit and reel in big fish. I got the impression watching and listening to BOB that he gave every day all he had and he wanted to dominate. I love BOB, hold no ill will, and regard him as one of the most important figures in our programs history
 
I appreciate what he contributed to Penn State and wish him well in the pros. I never had a problem with his leaving. People have to do what's best for their own career and family. Loyalty is no longer respected in society and Penn State has shown in recent years (STEP and Joe's firing) that it is often a one way street.
 
Some have expressed great animosity over his decision to leave for the NFL when he did, and others have praised him for "saving" Penn State football at it's time of greatest despair. Frankly I believe he gained more from Penn State than Penn State gained from him, but I am thankful for his time served and how he handled the difficult situations he encountered.
I think BOB wanted to be a H C PSU offered him that opportunity I think he wanted to be a hc in the pros. When the sanctions hit he couldn't get out of town fast enough. He knew he'd have to win or he couldn't get a head coaching job. So he didn't have time to build a program made short term decisions to get enough wins to get out of town. All things considered PSU could have done worse. I really think he felt lied to as I think PSU told him there would be no sanctions. Frankly I was surprised he stuck around I thought he walked when the sanctions hit
 
I was never one of ones who hated him for leaving, so my opinion hasn't changed. He came to Penn State at the most difficult time it's history, provided great leadership in holding the program together, and was a very good coach. He left to return to the NFL, where he belongs (IMHO). It would have been good for him to stay to continue with Hack's development, but it wasn't meant to be, and I think Franklin's top end is going to be higher in college than O'Brien's because he gets recruiting and being the spokesman and figurehead of the football team.
 
Some have expressed great animosity over his decision to leave for the NFL when he did, and others have praised him for "saving" Penn State football at it's time of greatest despair. Frankly I believe he gained more from Penn State than Penn State gained from him, but I am thankful for his time served and how he handled the difficult situations he encountered.
He was a no BS swashbuckler we needed at that time. With the help of great team leaders, he established an Us Against the World mentality his first year that made me proud to be a fan.

That total evisceration of Iowa at night after so many flaccid performances against them was amazing. Matt M and the boys just tore them apart.
 
I appreciate what he contributed to Penn State and wish him well in the pros. I never had a problem with his leaving. People have to do what's best for their own career and family. Loyalty is no longer respected in society and Penn State has shown in recent years (STEP and Joe's firing) that it is often a one way street.
I agree. He had great adversity in his own family as well, and had to secure the best medical care for his son. I just wish he hung in there for another year or so, as he was building something that seemed on a great track. Perhaps if he knew the sanctions would have been lifted when they did, he MAY have stayed longer. The past though is the past, so our allegiance now goes to CJF!
 
Some have expressed great animosity over his decision to leave for the NFL when he did, and others have praised him for "saving" Penn State football at it's time of greatest despair. Frankly I believe he gained more from Penn State than Penn State gained from him, but I am thankful for his time served and how he handled the difficult situations he encountered.

Self-dealt in negotiations with an administration he kissed the boots of....lied to players, recruits and his assistants....slunk out in the middle of the night and asked Dave Dick-Face Jones to drop a bomb on us the morning after. As another poster said, good riddance, to Mr. Do As I Say, Not As I Do idea of "character" and "integrity"..
 
BOB was awesome when we needed him to be... No doubt that he would have been a big winner here and could have built a dynasty. I will always think highly of him and what he did to keep the program afloat. Wish him nothing but the best. It's nice that we replaced him with the recruiting guru. Good times are ahead in the next few years!
 
O'Brien did a great job for PSU considering what he had to deal with. It was already mentioned he was likely lied to by the university administration. I also think he was lead to believe there were "Paterno people" who wanted him gone which was ridiculous. Look no further than the Jones interview which baited O'Brien into saying something he normally wouldn't.

I liked O'Brien as our head coach and was sorry to see him leave but it seems the NFL was his dream. I hope he does well in Houston. I like Franklin too so maybe that means I'm a hopeless homer.
 
Self-dealt in negotiations with an administration he kissed the boots of....lied to players, recruits and his assistants....slunk out in the middle of the night and asked Dave Dick-Face Jones to drop a bomb on us the morning after. As another poster said, good riddance, to Mr. Do As I Say, Not As I Do idea of "character" and "integrity"..
Your off your rocker. Good lord man. Is that all you do is call people names and bitch? Yet you call others out on character. Go read your posts then come back and explain how you show any character at all.
 
I thought when he was hired he was a home run and I believe he was just that. His moving on was what he wanted, so great for him. The only criticism I have of him is "what was he thinking about the OL"? I mean he brought in a DL from JC for depth why not for the OL?
 
I knew when OB came to psu he would move on to a head coaching opportunity at some point. I was hoping for 4 years. I was disappointed when he left but not mad. He did a great job under terrible conditions, sanctions he never expected, a terrible, incompetent boss, a nonsupportive board and president. We owe Billy a great deal and I'm very thankful he was a part of psu and we should consider him a Penn Stater. The guy can coach football. I'm not a big NFL fan but I hope he is successful. The real test is what the squad thought of him. They loved him. There are a lot of stories that have never come out as to how he treated the guys and respected them.

All that said, I'm happy so far with Franklin. He was my first choice when Billy left. I will say that after year one, my personal jury is still out as to if he can really coach. He has all the other head coaching tasks down cold, it's the on field coaching I'm still waiting on. One thing I will be watching is if the offense doesn't show very measurable improvement, I will expect him to put team ahead of loyalty. If he doesn't, we have a problem.
 
lied to players, recruits and his assistants

This is ridiculous.... there is not a single coach in the world that would tell recruits and current players that he was leaving for the NFL after just a couple of years. He would be completely ineffective. What is the divorce rate these days, ballpark of 50%... didn't all these men and women vow to be married forever, for better and for worse? I guess they are horrible dishonorable people as well.
 
I wish he would have stayed longer, but he came when many said no. Bill held together a recruiting class that included our current QB. Hack would not be here without OBrien. He kept a team together with some players who ended up being awesome leaders and great Penn Staters. They may not have stayed without him. I am glad he was here and I am thrilled that we now have James Franklin.
 
I was never one of ones who hated him for leaving, so my opinion hasn't changed. He came to Penn State at the most difficult time it's history, provided great leadership in holding the program together, and was a very good coach. He left to return to the NFL, where he belongs (IMHO). It would have been good for him to stay to continue with Hack's development, but it wasn't meant to be, and I think Franklin's top end is going to be higher in college than O'Brien's because he gets recruiting and being the spokesman and figurehead of the football team.

Could not have said it better.
 
Things worked out for us and not because of him. That's all I'll say about that. Thank God for CJF.
 
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I respect the job O'Brien did as the head coach at Penn State. Of course, I have no issue with his leaving for the NFL. It's his life and he has to do what makes him happy. That said, there are a number of things I still do not appreciate about O'Brien. His PowerPoint presentation saying that the lawsuits were not helpful was stupid. He should have stayed out of the fray and focused on football. I also did not like his tendency to be PC when asked about Joe. He wasn't consistent on the issue. Sometimes he spoke highly of Joe, but at other times, he didn't want to comment or he toed the line carefully. Just speak your mind.

While I have no issues with O'Brien leaving for the NFL, I do not like how he left. I do not appreciate the comments he made about the Penn State fanbase on his way out. I also do not like the fact that he fired Ron Vanderlinden when he must have been talking to NFL teams and must have had an idea that he could be leaving for the NFL.
 
I understand some people's 50/50 perspective on BOB, enjoying his time but not so overwhelmed...but some of the people that trash him, come on! The guy coached and gameplanned for the 21st century, throwing the ball to TE's 100 times a season and opening the game up to the likes we had never seen before. He made a true freshman qb (albeit extremely talented, but still a frosh) look like one of the best slingers in the country, and took a moody, undersized McGloin and make him a record breaker. He was IMO the best developer of an offense and gameplan I think we've seen in a long time at PSU. Who cares about the behind the scenes garbage that every coach goes through. He made our two years of 15-9 the most entertaining, exciting, and heartbreaking, you could ask for. Sure we had devastating defeats, but how much fun did we look? He brought us into the 21st century and we needed it! We needed him!
 
O'Brien was the right guy for Penn State at the right time. A critical figure in Penn State Football lore. He was upfront from the outset about his ultimate goal of becoming an NFL head coach and I believe an offer he couldn't refuse arrived from the Texans before he expected to receive one. I wish he would have stayed another year or two, but I now root for the Texans (except when they play the Eagles).
 
bOB's first words as he was introduced as PSU HC : "I am an NFL guy..." I knew from that very moment PSU was a stepping stone for him and had no illusions otherwise... Only wished he had fulfilled his original 5yr commitment but can't blame him as he was literally hosed down with cash from the NFL ...

EARTH to Penn State Fans : 60yr tenures aren't the norm
 
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I respect the job O'Brien did as the head coach at Penn State. Of course, I have no issue with his leaving for the NFL. It's his life and he has to do what makes him happy. That said, there are a number of things I still do not appreciate about O'Brien. His PowerPoint presentation saying that the lawsuits were not helpful was stupid. He should have stayed out of the fray and focused on football. I also did not like his tendency to be PC when asked about Joe. He wasn't consistent on the issue. Sometimes he spoke highly of Joe, but at other times, he didn't want to comment or he toed the line carefully. Just speak your mind.

While I have no issues with O'Brien leaving for the NFL, I do not like how he left. I do not appreciate the comments he made about the Penn State fanbase on his way out. I also do not like the fact that he fired Ron Vanderlinden when he must have been talking to NFL teams and must have had an idea that he could be leaving for the NFL.

What you mean like this completely BS article which run directly after FLO (Fly'in Ly'in O'Brien) announced he was leaving PSU a couple days after he lied to his team and recruits telling them he wasn't leaving PSU and wasn't talking to anyone about leaving PSU? See link below:

Why Bill O’Brien left Penn State for the Houston Texans

Despite the fact that everything presented in this article is complete bull$hit on the part of both FLO and Davey Tool-boy Jones. The reality is that FLO began self-dealing and horse-trading his PSU Contract -- THE FIRST HEAD COACHING CONTRACT HE EVER HAD -- from the moment he set foot on campus until the week he left when he lied to his team and recruits and told them he was staying and talking to no one about leaving despite TELLING DAVEY D-BAG JONES MORE THAN A MONTH EARLIER THAT HE WAS LEAVING and told him to publish a bull$hit story the day after he left blaming it on "Paterno supporters" when both Jones and scumbag O'Brien KNOW FULL WELL that O'Brien left out of sheer GREED AND SELF-INTEREST. Yea, what great "character" - a guy that denigrates the institution and its community that gave him his first Head Coaching job allowing him to spend the time he was supposed to be recruiting (oh yea, he left the cupboard completely bare) to self-deal his way into the NFL Head Coaching job he was looking for and then in completely BS move try to claim he wasn't leaving out of greed and self-interest but make up this BS claim.....yea, what awesome "character" especially the firing of coaches after he knew he was leaving for NFL to throw PSU's recruiting into a complete shambles.
 
I respect the job O'Brien did as the head coach at Penn State. Of course, I have no issue with his leaving for the NFL. It's his life and he has to do what makes him happy. That said, there are a number of things I still do not appreciate about O'Brien. His PowerPoint presentation saying that the lawsuits were not helpful was stupid. He should have stayed out of the fray and focused on football. I also did not like his tendency to be PC when asked about Joe. He wasn't consistent on the issue. Sometimes he spoke highly of Joe, but at other times, he didn't want to comment or he toed the line carefully. Just speak your mind.

While I have no issues with O'Brien leaving for the NFL, I do not like how he left. I do not appreciate the comments he made about the Penn State fanbase on his way out. I also do not like the fact that he fired Ron Vanderlinden when he must have been talking to NFL teams and must have had an idea that he could be leaving for the NFL.

Here is the article the USAToday ran the day after FLO left, yea FLO was "quite the guy" -- see article link below:

Bill O'Brien blasted 'Paterno people' before leaving Penn State
 
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While I have no issues with O'Brien leaving for the NFL, I do not like how he left. I do not appreciate the comments he made about the Penn State fanbase on his way out. I also do not like the fact that he fired Ron Vanderlinden when he must have been talking to NFL teams and must have had an idea that he could be leaving for the NFL.

He was baited into making those comments by a despicable reporter and has since said he wishes that hadn't happened and that he had great support while he was at PSU.
 
Not only was he baited but the whole point of bringing in a new HC is for his own perspective, ideas, etc. If he feels that Vandy wasn't his right guy, then so be it. I love PSU and JoePA, but any group like that questioning his move and voicing displeasure in saving a JOE guy is archaic. As I mentioned earlier, BOB brought a tough as nails, brick wall mentality. You could see that guys like Mauti, Zordich, MMcgloin loved it and fed off it. Who cares what some old former guys who played here think. I don't blame BOB one bit for feeling like he's an outsider, that's how he was made to feel. Heck, his two bosses were Dave Joyner and Rod Erickson, two absolute duds and unemotional zombies. The whole situation was a dumpster fire and BOB at least calmed the flames. Mad respect for that guy
 
I respect the job O'Brien did as the head coach at Penn State. Of course, I have no issue with his leaving for the NFL. It's his life and he has to do what makes him happy. That said, there are a number of things I still do not appreciate about O'Brien. His PowerPoint presentation saying that the lawsuits were not helpful was stupid. He should have stayed out of the fray and focused on football. I also did not like his tendency to be PC when asked about Joe. He wasn't consistent on the issue. Sometimes he spoke highly of Joe, but at other times, he didn't want to comment or he toed the line carefully. Just speak your mind.

While I have no issues with O'Brien leaving for the NFL, I do not like how he left. I do not appreciate the comments he made about the Penn State fanbase on his way out. I also do not like the fact that he fired Ron Vanderlinden when he must have been talking to NFL teams and must have had an idea that he could be leaving for the NFL.

Even Onward State published this article which identified Fly'in Ly'in O'Brien's and Jones' BS tactics and statements for precisely what they were -- classless rubbish. See article below:

http://onwardstate.com/2014/01/03/in-defense-of-the-paterno-people/
 
He helped make the Penn State job sought after again when 2 years earlier no one wanted it. All things considered, I think it worked out for everyone. OB apparently was losing interest in recruiting, probably having to answer scandal questions every day. I also think Jay and the anonymous SI article trashing OB, made him realize he wouldnt fit longterm either. Clearly some people around town did not appreciate his first year.
 
I tend to agree with Bushwood on this one. I think his genius coaching is a bit extreme. He certainly brought the offense up to date, but our defense was historically bad. We had some legitimate players his year here and he did really help mcgloin develop. But, for every Iowa game, there was a terrible offensive/defensive gameplan for an Indiana. Hodges returning kicks against Ohio? Ridiculous. I thought he was a solid coach, but not transcendent. It was nice watching our offense improve, but it did not feel like penn state watching our defense be so so porous. I never liked the contract renegotiating and posturing both off seasons either. It did appear that he lied to his team, recruits, the school when he left, but maybe he had his reasons. I guess the one true redeeming quality and I can't begrudge him too much, is the players seemed to really like and respect him, and at the end of the day, it really should be about those kids right?
 
He helped make the Penn State job sought after again when 2 years earlier no one wanted it. All things considered, I think it worked out for everyone. OB apparently was losing interest in recruiting, probably having to answer scandal questions every day. I also think Jay and the anonymous SI article trashing OB, made him realize he wouldnt fit longterm either. Clearly some people around town did not appreciate his first year.

Yea, attempting to shamelessly self-deal his first Head Coaching contract at PSU into a contract which doubled his comp at Houston had nothing to do with it at all???..... What complete BS that his primary motivation was how shabbily he was treated at PSU for only $3.6 million per year - yea, right-o, whatever you say.
 
The fact that some of you dolts are not thankful for what Bill O'Brien did for Penn State makes me question your sanity. Because Joe stayed for 60 years and provided stability, and familiarity, you think you deserve that type of retention from the next coach. You also expect him to each crap sandwhiches prepared by the NCAA and served by the Penn State BOT and President, and all the while think first about the legacy of the coach he replaced than the success and health of his own program.
 
He eased me into the new generation of college football. Seemed to do a heck of a job as a leader, though I still question his decision making ability in the course of a game. Liked his no BS approach. Disliked that he allowed himself to be used as a pawn by the BOT with the photo op at the board meeting.
 
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Bill O'Brien took on an almost unprecedented situation. He followed Joe Paterno, which we all knew was going to be virtually impossible before any of what happened, happened. When you consider the circumstances it's incredible he did as well as he did and that he even agreed to come here.

I give Bill O'Brien a lot of credit. It was an impossible situation to come into and he did better than probably anybody else who was considered for the job would have done. I have a ton of respect for him and I wish him all the best.
 
All the naysayers and haters of BOB on this board who bring up his comments in the article, I ask you, who would u have wanted to bridge the gap realistically? An old fuddy dud like Al Groh, Chan Gailey, etc that were psu image? Just like Joyner and Erickson, old stale guys. BOB brought intelligence, ingenuity and a pulse.
 
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The man saved Penn State football. Period. Forget recruiting high school kids, he had to recruit our entire team in order to prevent them from transferring. No other coach in the history of college athletics has had to deal with that type of situation. You'd have to look at the Marshall team from the 70's after the plane crash to find the only more difficult situation to inherit. If I ever saw him face to face, I'd simply shake his hand and say thank you. I mean how much bullshit can a single person deal with in a two year period before they've had enough and have no choice but to move on?
 
Who? Oh yea that guy. Did a great job developing McGloin, recruited or kept Hack in the fold.
[I forget which] We learned how to use a tight end, and had a terrible defense. Appeared to hate recruiting and the PR aspect of college football.Too much like Belecheat for me.
He belongs in the pros and CJF belongs in college. Apples and oranges.
 
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