Penn State hiring Patriots assistant
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Bill O'Brien
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The coach who recently had a heated sideline spat with New England quarterback Tom Brady is the same guy who will become Penn State University's new head football coach.
Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien -- a hard-nosed, old-school coach -- interviewed for the Nittany Lions' vacancy Thursday and later accepted the job, a source told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Terms of the deal are not known, but Mr. O'Brien is expected to remain with the Patriots for the NFL playoffs.
Penn State fired Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno Nov. 9 in the wake of a child sexual abuse scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
Mr. Paterno was replaced by interim coach Tom Bradley, who guided the Lions to a 1-3 finish. As of late Thursday night, no Penn State coaches or players had been informed of the hiring.
"Coach O'Brien is very intense," said Cleveland Browns third-string quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, who started as a freshman at Duke in 2006 in Mr. O'Brien's second and final season as offensive coordinator there. "He demands the heck out of you, but he's going to give you everything he has. He loves the game of football.
"There was tough love, tough coaching, but it actually helped me out, helped me to get to where I am today."
Former Duke wide receiver Eron Riley said Thursday he wasn't shocked by Mr. O'Brien's confrontation with Mr. Brady over an interception.
"It didn't surprise me at all," Mr. Riley said. "He's a competitor. He wants to win. I'm sure those guys were fine afterwards. He's a competitive person. I'm sure that's happened plenty of times. It's just the first time they caught it on camera."
Mr. O'Brien, 42, a Massachusetts native, arrived at Brown University in 1988. He played defensive end and linebacker, following in the footsteps of his father and older brother, who both played for the Bears.
Mr. O'Brien worked for two years as a graduate assistant before accepting a similar position on Georgia Tech coach George O'Leary's staff in 1995. He spent eight seasons at Georgia Tech and served as the Yellow Jackets' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in his final two years.
He initially followed Mr. O'Leary to Notre Dame in December 2001, but Mr. O'Leary was fired five days later for lying about his academic and athletic background on his resume. Mr. O'Brien was rehired as offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech by Chan Gailey, a former Steelers assistant coach and current Buffalo Bills head coach.
First Published January 6, 2012 12:00 am
