It looks like Bill O’Brien will return to Penn State and Beaver Stadium for the first time in more than a decade.
Furthermore, he’ll be joining the school many Penn State fans hate the most.
Per a report by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Ohio State is set to hire O’Brien as its next offensive coordinator.
Sources: Ohio State is set to hire longtime NFL head coach Bill O’Brien as the school’s new offensive coordinator. O’Brien served last season as the Patriots’ offensive coordinator in 2023 and has been the head coach at the Texans and in the Big Ten at Penn State. pic.twitter.com/19e2iXv6oe
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 19, 2024
O’Brien recently wrapped up the first– and, apparently, last– season of his second stint as the New England Patriots OC. O’Brien hadn’t been let go by the Pats after the organization parted ways with legendary HC Bill Belichick, but there were questions about his future after that news broke.
Now, those questions appear to have an answer.
Ohio State was likely to be Penn State’s biggest home game before this news, and if both teams are living up to expectations come Nov. 2, the game will be one of the biggest of the college football season. So it didn’t need much extra intrigue, but a homecoming for O’Brien would certainly add an extra layer. To most Penn State fans, O’Brien will always be a beloved figure. In January 2012, he took on the daunting task of succeeding the legendary Joe Paterno, which was made about a million times more difficult in July, when the NCAA hit Penn State with what could have been program-destroying sanctions amid the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal which led to Paterno’s firing in November 2011.
O’Brien not only kept the program afloat, he won more than he lost. Penn State went 15-9 over his two seasons, which was impressive enough for him to get an NFL head-coaching gig with the Houston Texans.
BOB joining Ohio State shouldn’t cause Penn State fans to sour on him.
With that said, seeing him in those colors will be an odd site for many Penn Staters.
