Sam Ficken: "We knew from the get-go that O’Brien’s dream and passion was to coach in the NFL"
- Thread starter ChiTownLion
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Good article --- but I think this was a TERRIBLE headline by you. The thing that you most took out of the article was the one quasi-negative comment from a player about O'Brien, and instead you overlooked the near dozen positive comments by the players about O'Brien??????
O'Brien was a fabulous coach for the program and I loved what he did here in both 2012 & 2013. I don't understand how so many people still dislike the guy because he left for the NFL. His PSU players loved him and that's apparent from the quotes in the article.
My favorite memory of that Wisconsin game (I was there) was the entire team AND the coaches doing the "Jump Around" between the 3rd and 4th Quarters. 24-point underdogs for the game --- and underdogs throughout the entire 2012 & 2013 seasons. But they believed in themselves and had more success than most folk predicted. They had a lot to "jump around" about.
O'Brien was a fabulous coach for the program and I loved what he did here in both 2012 & 2013. I don't understand how so many people still dislike the guy because he left for the NFL. His PSU players loved him and that's apparent from the quotes in the article.
My favorite memory of that Wisconsin game (I was there) was the entire team AND the coaches doing the "Jump Around" between the 3rd and 4th Quarters. 24-point underdogs for the game --- and underdogs throughout the entire 2012 & 2013 seasons. But they believed in themselves and had more success than most folk predicted. They had a lot to "jump around" about.
What was quasi-negative? You’re reaching for things these days.
BY FAR, Hack's best performance at Penn State. Would have been interesting to see how his career would have developed had BOB stayed. I hold no grudges whatsoever against O'Brien. The guy coached up an undermanned group of players in the darkest times we have ever witnessed at PSU and won games! This game and the beating we put on Iowa with McGloin and company are the two I will always remember.
I'll leave it to ChiTownLion to answer why he chose THAT quote as the one he singled out specifically.
That quote would appeal to the "we don't like Bill O'Brien fan club" which has a significant number of members here.
Talk about pot calling kettle black. When you advocate hiring Matt Canada or the nc state coach, it’s pretty obvious you aren’t thinking clearly about our current head coach.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
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So, O’Brien lied a bunch in all those speeches about being at Penn State a long time. Later, Window Punch.
There were reports that Franklin was considering a different coaching job --- and I expressed my opinion that would be better for PSU in the long-run.
You disagree, fair enough.
What makes me different is that I would never say - had Franklin left - "Franklin screwed Penn State, he was never committed to PSU, he lied his entire time he was here, he did us a disservice, blah blah blah blah blah." There are people who do have such an opinion as regards Bill O'Brien.
fun read. I thought of BO'B when there was the CJF to USC and the owner of the Texans (who was BO'B's biggest fan) died. If Texans tanked and CJF went to USC, would we want or take O'Brian back? Would he want college over pro now that he scratched that itch?
FLO gave grief to young players leaving for "business decisions" even though he taught it to them and then used it when he left. Stand up guy.
Could he start three months after being hired? If so put me down as a definite yes.
Good article, great quotes, great memories. Bill O'Brien was a great coach at Penn State and we couldn't have asked for a better bridge to James Franklin. When he accepted the PSU job he still wanted to interview with Jacksonville. I found the quotes interesting because there was a lot of speculation that Obie promised Christian Hackenberg that he would be at PSU throughout the entirety of his career, only to leave after Hack's freshman year. There was also some speculation that Dave Joyner ruined the relationship, and that may very well be true, but it is interesting to hear from the players that they knew from the get-go that Obie was NFL-bound. With the benefit of hindsight, all parties won.
That game remains on my top 10 wins list... and it concludes with one of the best sound-bytes of all time (imo)..
What is your problem with Franklin? All he did was bring us back from the sanctions to the top ten.
If you answer is how he does against the spread I hope you realize how absurd that argument is.
He had the audacity to say something nice about Joe Paterno.
Disagreeing between whether Franklin has been outcoached at times is one thing. However, I’ll leave it to you to explain why you think a journeyman offensive coordinator is a suitable replacement for Franklin. And I’m not even addressing the straw man you’ve erected about what the op said.
A key differentiator for college coaches is recruiting. AL and tOSU took their programs national and beat people just on great talent. When I see tOSU play, I don't think "gee, look at that awesome scheme". I think "wow, wish we had those kinds of athletes".
I don't think Obie would be a great recruiter, although he was handicapped with sanctions while he was here. However, I think Obie is a better game day coach than CJF. Having said that, I like where we are as a program right now.
He was handicapped in recruiting by not being here, and not pushing back against sanctions when they asked for his input.
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anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
Guest
He and the team broke huddles with “next level.” He was honest in his actions, which IMHO were louder than his words. Lying requires intent to deceive. He said what he said but the writing was on the wall. I guess reasonable minds can disagree there.
And to boot, what coach publicly advertises he doesn’t intend to keep the job he’s got? Doing his job required him to say he intends to stay. He did his job until he found something he wanted more, which is just like most everyone who works for someone else. And breaking the huddle with “next level” doesn’t suggest he aspired to stay at PSU and be the guy who eventually leads them back to CFB glory.
I still look at his tenure as a win-win and most of the players he recruited seem fine with his decision. If anyone has a right to claim deception, it’s them.
EDIT: I like the article. Probably the best CDT article I can remember..
I remember O'Brien saying very early on (it may even have been in his introductory press conference) that he considered the NFL the pinnacle of his profession- it should have surprised no one when he left.
Some guys are NFL coaches, some are college coaches- and a few are equally comfortable in either role. Anybody who makes a long career out of it is going to know Xs and Os, it's football, not rocket science.
But the total skill sets are not identical, and the strengths required in the NFL don't always translate to being a great college coach, and vice versa. CJF is a great college coach, and we're damn lucky to have him. You can disagree, but then you're just wrong.
Some guys are NFL coaches, some are college coaches- and a few are equally comfortable in either role. Anybody who makes a long career out of it is going to know Xs and Os, it's football, not rocket science.
But the total skill sets are not identical, and the strengths required in the NFL don't always translate to being a great college coach, and vice versa. CJF is a great college coach, and we're damn lucky to have him. You can disagree, but then you're just wrong.
I believe this clip was from the prior year after a comeback win at home.
Michigan fans have their own unique reality, and it doesn't jive with the true one.
He thinks there are so many better coaches out there who would die to come to Penn State and their names are.......crickets. Some people are just clueless.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
So, did this suggest he aspired to stay at Penn State? I guess it somewhat depends on your definition of 'long term'... If everyone knew he was NFL bound, why say this?
"Today we receive a very harsh penalty from the NCAA and as Head Coach of the Nittany Lions football program, I will do everything in my power to not only comply, but help guide the University forward to become a national leader in ethics, compliance and operational excellence," O'Brien said in a statement. "I knew when I accepted the position that there would be tough times ahead. But I am committed for the long term to Penn State and our student athletes.
"I was then and I remain convinced that our student athletes are the best in the country. I could not be more proud to lead this team and these courageous and humble young men into the upcoming 2012 season. Together we are committed to building a better athletic program and university."
Additionally, why would someone hellbent on the NFL agree to a contract that provided an automatic extension in the event of sanctions, which I believe he knew were coming? Makes zero sense to sign if you didn't plan on sticking around.
The agreement, signed by O'Brien and interim athletics director David Joyner, reads: "Any sanction by the NCAA of a) loss of scholarships or b) bowl eligibility due to the actions of the previous staff or lack of institutional control prior to 2012 will immediately result in an automatic extension of coach's contract at 2016 total compensation and bonus package in years equal to the number of years of the sanctions."
I do agree...really odd quote to take from that article and make it the subject line of this thread.
This is laughable. BOB didn't push back? In what universe did you get that from, and why do you think it would've mattered if he bitched from the highest hill?
I expect some sort of insult instead of an intelligent thought in response. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Everyone is welcome to sift through the daily avalanche of articles related to Penn State football and find the nuggets that they believe to be of greatest interest to our community and post them on this message board for further discussion.
Yeah...that is plain crazy. He could have pouted, yelled, whined, or screamed about them, but the school pretty much signed up for the sanctions willingly.
They sure can, but I'm just not sure what the title of this thread has to do with that article. It's still a good article about a resilient team and coach.
What they did to him reflects poorly on them, not him. Him not fighting the imaginary battle outside the scope of his job for everyone else has nothing to do with this article IMO. Lots of stuff by lots of loyal and dedicated players in that article.
The improvement from Week 2 to Week12 his first season is the best job I’ve ever seen from any football coach. Do not blame the guy for wanting to reach the highest level of his profession. It’s surprising to see so many fans still have disgust for him.
Wrong...there was a piece by an LA sportswriter opining that USC should give James top consideration if they fired Helton. There was nothing...repeat nothing...to suggest that he was "considering" anything.
Fair enough - though that answer is dodging the question of why you quoted that one particular quote.
An alternate (and neutral) title could have been this: "CDT retrospective: 5 year anniversary of 2013 upset win at Wisconsin."
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