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David Jones opines on the Meyer scandal

O'Brien got to the NFL well ahead of his own schedule.
Sorry, I'm not following what you are saying. He wanted to be an NFL HC and took the job when one presented itself. I'm not sure what "his own schedule" was.

His stated goal to people within the program was that he wanted to be an NFL head coach. If he got the Texans job earlier than some perhaps thought he would get an NFL gig, it does not mean that his goal was not to be an NFL HC and that he would go to the right situation as soon as it presented itself.

Incidentally, the Texans job is one of the better ones in the NFL. Kubiak was there a long time. It is a stable situation.
 
Sorry, I'm not following what you are saying. He wanted to be an NFL HC and took the job when one presented itself. I'm not sure what "his own schedule" was.

His stated goal to people within the program was that he wanted to be an NFL head coach. If he got the Texans job earlier than some perhaps thought he would get an NFL gig, it does not mean that his goal was not to be an NFL HC and that he would go to the right situation as soon as it presented itself.

Incidentally, the Texans job is one of the better ones in the NFL. Kubiak was there a long time. It is a stable situation.
It paid a lot more than PSU could have offered him. Also, a hospital in Houston is the best place in the world to treat his disabled son's medical condition.

Going to Houston was a no brainer for OB, would not have mattered in somebody other than Joyner was AD or if Jay Paterno was living at the North Pole without any way to communicate.
 
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It paid a lot more than PSU could have offered him. Also, a hospital in Houston is the best place in the world to treat his disabled son's medical condition.

Going to Houston was a no brainer for OB, would not have mattered in somebody other than Joyner was AD or if Jay Paterno was living at the North Pole without any way to communicate.
All those reasons are indeed legit. But O'Brien's relationship with his AD is what made it a "no-brainer."
 
Jay was most assuredly not responsible for O'Brien's abrupt exit. But i'll give you 3 guesses who was.

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totally disagree with that. He left because the NFL came calling, it did not matter about anything else, he wasnt staying with an NFL job in hand.
 
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All those reasons are indeed legit. But O'Brien's relationship with his AD is what made it a "no-brainer."

And now he is complaining about his boss in Houston. Go figure. Joyner gave him everything he wanted and he still complained. Total prima dona.
 
It occurred to me that Jones was the guy who started floating the term "Joebot" in the article in which he described the telephone interview where be baited O'Brien into his "Paterno people" comment. Will Jones come up with a snarky nickname for anyone who supports Meyer? "Urbot" perhaps??
 
And I'd agree with you that his strained relationship with his direct manager wasn't a factor in his decision. But then we'd both be wrong.
Had the greatest AD on the face of the earth been at PSU, he still would have left for the Texans job. Do you disagree with that?
 
I think he actually buried the lead: Smith is going to be the sacrificial lamb and float away on a golden parachute. Dollars to donuts, that's what happens.
 
I agree that we’ll never know.
Well, I wish you had answered the question. :)

I agree that he did not like Fester. That is no secret.

I can assure you, and I say this with more knowledge of the situation than most, that he would have left for the Texans regardless of the situation at PSU. It is a top-ten NFL HC job. Those opportunities don't come along very often.

Now, would he have left for what was a dysfunctional Cleveland Browns job if everything was perfect at PSU? That is an interesting question.
 
Had the greatest AD on the face of the earth been at PSU, he still would have left for the Texans job. Do you disagree with that?

You're absolutely right
The situation here for any coach that followed Joe was going to be less than perfect. O'Brien was the perfect gap guy. It couldn't have worked out better for Penn State or O'Brien
Everyone won
 
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Well, the main reason he left was that he wanted to be an NFL head coach. Even if he had been treated like gold by everyone at PSU, he would have still left.

The said, I agree with you that Joyner was a source of frustration and Jay was no friend to the program during that time.
OB also left because his son with an acute neurological disorder was able to get the best care in the country for his infirmity at Univ. of Houston Medical Center located close to the Texans stadium.
 
I don't know about anyone else but I'm having difficulty getting past this statement.

I'm not going to debate what is spousal abuse and what isn't. I do know that many marriages I've been around, including my own of 31 years, have included violent episodes in which objects were broken, walls were dinged and skin was chafed in both directions. I'm not condoning such behavior, but neither am I claiming any moral high ground.

Maybe DeFries could give the Jones family some life coaching?

OK, this, to me, is bad!!! I've been married 32 years and this is not normal.
 
OK, this, to me, is bad!!! I've been married 32 years and this is not normal.
I totally agree. I've never broken an object, dinged the walls or chafed skin in all the years I've been married. Yelling like an idiot? Guilty. Storming off? Check. And we've always adhered to never going to bed mad.
 
Had the greatest AD on the face of the earth been at PSU, he still would have left for the Texans job. Do you disagree with that?
Agreed...and, for that matter, BoB hasn't sent a Christmas card to the Texan's GM in several years (it is rumored).
 
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Dude... we were a combined 51-13 2005-2009... that's averaging over 10 wins a season for 5 years. I often wonder what planet you are on some times. And while I agree this board can be a bit unfair on Davey Boy at times, there is a very subtle deep-ceded contempt for all things PSU in his writing. If you don't see it you're not paying attention.
PSU’s rough patch was pretty much 2000-2004. Things improved mightily from 2005-2011. The sanction years of 2012-13 were tough but talent was there. Now the Franklin years 2014-17. Program has not been in a better place in 20 yrs.
 
"I'm not going to debate what is spousal abuse and what isn't. I do know that many marriages I've been around, including my own of 31 years, have included violent episodes in which objects were broken, walls were dinged and skin was chafed in both directions. I'm not condoning such behavior, but neither am I claiming any moral high ground."

David Jones. Wife beater and enabler of abuse.

Yeah, WTF? I can't say that despite some disagreements, including serious ones, I've never had a violent episodes in which objects were broken, walls were dinged and skin was chafed.
 
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"But the second reason is more vital. It's that lying to reporters in a public forum is really lying to you. We are there as your conduit, trying to hold accountable powerful public officials who otherwise might be able to get away with anything they please. Sometimes they do anyway."

What about when reporters lie to us?
 
I have a confession.... I loathe David Jones so completely, both from personal contact and the shit he constantly write about PSU, that it has become impossible for me to be unbiased regarding him. I need the help of the board. Did he not essentially admit to abusing his wife?:

I'm not going to debate what is spousal abuse and what isn't. I do know that many marriages I've been around, including my own of 31 years, have included violent episodes in which objects were broken, walls were dinged and skin was chafed in both directions

I have been been married for 13 years and have experienced no “violent episodes”, “dinged walls” or “chafed skin.” What is it he is admitting to doing? Please help.
 
OB also left because his son with an acute neurological disorder was able to get the best care in the country for his infirmity at Univ. of Houston Medical Center located close to the Texans stadium.
Exactly. And his wife did not like Central PA and he hated recruiting. Joyner was a very low factor in his decision to take the Texans job. Doubling his salary which PSU could not have done at the time was a factor too. Biggest reason, he is a NFL guy.
 
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Cosmos, Agree with much of what you said. However, how did Meyer enable Smith? It appears that the victim here was herself regularly contacting the authorities. They were aware of Smith’s alleged behavior. How would firing Smith have operated to prevent further abuse, if that is indeed what was going on?

"However, how did Meyer enable Smith?"

By not getting him help. The first step in the process is Zach realizing he needs help. I don't think most domestic abuses recognize they've got a problem. Obviously, firing Zach in and of itself wouldn't prevent further abuse.
 
Over the years I’ve noticed a few things about reporters that cover Penn State. They actually do their job. They are not fan boys. Growing up in WV, the local reporters were fans before they were journalists. The local beat writer did his predictions for the Mountaineer game each week. One year, he picked them to win every game, including to beat the top ranked Miami Hurricanes. They ended the season with five or six wins. The year they lost to Florida in the Sugar Bowl (‘93?), someone who played for WVU in the 40s passed away. The last sentence of his obituary was that the ‘93 team had an undefeated regular season and played for a possible MNC.

You see it throughout college football, and especially in college football towns. Columbus is notorious for this. In ‘94, the sports anchor at WSYX bet that Ohio State would beat Penn State, or he would run the 10 plus miles from his house to the station. They covered him running it, too.

Many college journalists graduated from that college, and find a certain allegiance towards the local team. This means they bleed the local team’s colors, just like the fans do. When Barry Switzer was hired as the Cowboys coach, he was used to Oklahoma fanboy journalists, cheering his every move. In his introductory press conference, he tried to get the journalists on his side, by saying how they were going to win, enthusiastically shouting “And we’re gonna do it, baby!” You could have heard a pin drop the silence was so deafening.

There have been some really good reporters cover Penn State football lately, and a few that seem to go out of their way to take shots at the team, although you see less and less of that. Whether you like Dave Jones or not, you should respect the job he does, because he does it professionally. Now, about the issues with his wife, that’s fair game.
 
Nice to see he reads this board to find out how deafening his silence was becoming.
 
Over the years I’ve noticed a few things about reporters that cover Penn State. They actually do their job.

There are two guys, and I'm not going to name them who delight in seeing PSU in trouble. The first question from the one, for Franklin when he was hired wasn't anything about football. He asked about the possible scandal at Vanderbuilt. As far as the other one goes, Paterno couldn't stand the guy. As far as I am concerned that speaks volumes.
 
I still can't figure out how you guys think you are being objective relative to Jones. His job is to write about Penn State sports and give his opinion. He's not a court stenographer, like Ronnie Christ, that only repeats the talking points given to him. Do I agree with Jones all of the time? No, of course not. Does that mean he has an agenda to undermine Penn State's sports programs? No, of course it doesn't. The reality is that writing that everything is sunshine and rainbows doesn't get as much exposure as negative stuff. He's just doing his job.

I remember listening to SiriusXM 84 the night after we upset Ohio State in 2016. They had Jones on as "expert" on the PSU program. One of the host made a comment along the lines that "College football is better when Penn State is relevant". Jones then chimes in and says he disagrees. He likes it better when small programs are successful.

I think that exchange sums up David Jones. He is not happy when the program he covers is nationally relevant.

I rest my case.
 
I don't know how anyone who's read a few of Jones's columns could think he is professional. I totally disagree with the notion that he acts like a professional journalist.
 
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I guess you have a new hobby.

Since you've been mostly unsuccessful in changing the narrative on JoePa, you will now devote your 2 hours per day on Twitter to the task of getting David Jones fired.

Godspeed.
So why did you suddenly need to “professionally relocate”? Did one of your actions, or inactions, backfire? :)
 
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