Patriots' offensive coordinator officially named new PSU coach

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. --


New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien arrived in Happy Valley Friday evening and hours later, the university made the announcement official: O'Brien is the next head coach of the Penn State football program.


6 News reporter Gary Sinderson reported from University Park Airport that O'Brien arrived with what appeared to be his family shortly before 7 p.m. O'Brien was taken into the Penn State hangar and departed in a private car.


In releases sent to the media, Penn State officials said O'Brien becomes the 15th head football coach "in its storied 125-year history."


O'Brien has been a member of the Patriots' coaching staff since 2007. He has worked with such coaches and players in his 19-year coaching career as Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Ralph Friedgen, George O'Leary and Chan Gailey.


Also over the weekend, Tom Bradley was relieved of his duties as interim head coach of the PSU football team.


Earlier Friday afternoon, coaches were seen coming and going from the Lasch Building on the University Park campus, the headquarters for Penn State football. 6 News crews report seeing Bradley and the other members of the current coaching team on hand.


On Friday -- a day after ESPN reported O'Brien would be the new head football coach at PSU -- State College was buzzing and former players were commenting.


Penn State and Patriots officials didn't comment initially on the network's report that O'Brien agreed to replace Joe Paterno as the Nittany Lions' head coach, and no terms of the deal have been announced.


O'Brien replaces Bradley, who took the position after Paterno was fired in early November by the university trustees. Paterno spent 46 seasons as the head coach for Penn State before he was fired following child sex abuse charges against PSU former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.


As interim coach, Bradley has been recruiting new players. He told 6 News' Matt Maisel on Friday that he had not been informed of any decision by Penn State and said it's unlikely that Bradley, Jay Paterno or the rest of the coaching staff will remain at Penn State.


O'Brien played college played football at Brown University, which is Paterno's alma mater. He has been with the Patriots since 2007 after 14 years as a collegiate assistant coach with stops at Duke, Maryland and Georgia Tech. He has never been a head coach.


Paterno was the winningest coach in Division I history with 409 victories. Not only does a new coach have to replace Paterno, but he must also deal with rebuilding PSU's image after the Sandusky scandal and being appointed head coach over Bradley, a PSU alumnus.


O'Brien has no ties to Penn State, which has some former players outraged. There are also reports that O'Brien will remain with the Patriots through their playoffs, which some say could mean that Penn State could fall behind in recruiting.


On Twitter, Lavar Arrington said Friday he wanted Bradley to get the job. Arrington told Blue White Illustrated that, "I will put my Butkus Award in storage. I will put my Alamo Bowl MVP trophy in storage. Jerseys. Anything Penn State in storage. Wherever Tom Bradley goes, that's the school I will start to put memorabilia up in my home. I'm done with Penn State. If they are done with us, I'm done with them."


Arrington's former teammate, Brandon Short, said, "It's not longer Penn State. We might as well be in the SEC. They are intent on turning it into a booster culture. Penn State is a family and it is real, and if they choose to get rid of Bradley and not hire a Penn State coach, then they've turned their backs on our entire family."


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