JimBob2232

His current players were told similar things....then apparently Obrien stopped returning their calls, and allegedly never gave a courtesy call/text saying he was gone. Handled poorly IMO. However, tweets from current players are positive. Fans....not so much. Psu is in a better place than it was 2 Years ago thanks to obrien...but its teetering again pending a new hc and keeping this Top 15-20 recruiting class together....AGAIN. It's crazy that JR/SR will have played under 4 head coaches in their college career.

Not terribly surprised, but his credibility is gone IMO. He told recruits as soon as yesterday to ignore the noise, I'll be at penn state next year. He preached "you are nothng if you dont keep your word"....Well...I thought he was different...guess not. I'm still not sure he is ready for the nfl...I'd rather see him have a couple more years of HC experience (his game day decisions and clock management were atrocious at times). Overall he is a good coach, and I wish him the best...but he isn't exact leaving psu in the dignified manner I would have expected from a man with such (alleged) high integrity. Unfortunately the university is probably largely to blame for this as well. They don't want to continue investing in the football program due to the whole "incident". Next man up.

They reduced it in June. Hs original contract got automatically extended when sanctions were announced, and as a result he buyout got out of control. It was somewhere in the 12m range, which was too onerous. I'm not sure psu wants to renegotiate his contract every year like this...which could also be one reason psu would reuse to give into his demands.

We'll see ... Dialogue is starting to change. CBS has reported Obrien took psu's offer to Houston and Houston balked at it. I can't imagine psu outbidding the nfl, so this may be a case of the deal falling apart and both sides are trying to save face. Doubt anything happens tomorrow, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear of more Houston interviews soon. Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) 12/31/13, 6:32 PM Am told Bill O'Brien went back to #PennState & then circled back to the #Texans in negotiations but Houston brass didn't budge.

Its a good story...too bad its not true. His contract states "Coach shall be deemed to earn a pro-rata amount of the annual payment on a weekly basis...and coach shall be entitled to any amount earned, but unpaid, upon termination of his employment for any reason" So he isnt giving up anything (except maybe a week earned..) by waiting.

Bogus. Regardless if they can even compete from a medical perspective, changing doctors & treatment centers is a HUGE deal for this kind of thing. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/26/obrien-may-not-be-a-sure-thing-to-jump-to-nfl/ "O’Brien wouldn’t be the first (or the last) football coach to say one thing and done another, and it would be hard to fault him for making a money grab at the next level. But family considerations also come into play, given that O’Brien’s 11-year-old son, Jack, has a medical condition that prevents him from walking or talking and results in near-daily seizures. The O’Briens reportedly have a high degree of comfort with the local medical care Jack is receiving and the elementary school Jack is attending; uprooting him from that while at the same time finding an acceptable replacement in a new city will present a considerable challenge."

He made $3.2M in 2013. but it looks like it is giong down in 2014...I would expect a new contract if he stays at PSU in the 3-4M/year range. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9407519/bill-obrien-penn-state-nittany-lions-gets-pay-raise 4M/year for 20 years (if he wants to stay that long) = $80M 7M/year for 5 years + $2M for 15 years =$65M Its a tough decision any way you slice it.

His sons medical care is also a HUGE factor. But I think Houston is one of the places that can compete with Penn State on that front.

I dont know how you begin to make that decision. He has (likely) a job for life at PSU if he wants it...or potentially only 2-3 years in Houston, then toiling around as an OC or lesser college HC if it doesnt work out. Short term money may not beat long term money at PSU. But i guess you have to believe you will be successful wherever you go, or you wuoldnt be a college/nfl head coach.

Sounds like he tried to pressure penn state into some things without any intent on leaving, but is now sitting on a VERY good offer, and is conflicted...get your popcorn ready.

Good question...and i cant really intellegently debate this...but from what i gather, the recruiting budget, # of recruiting staff members, and some facilities are not up to par with top football schools. There has also been a reluctance from the administration to do anything positive for the football program for 2 years due to the scandal.

Dont want to turn this into mcgloin vs manual...but... EJ: 180/306 58.8% MM: 118/211 55.9% EJ: 11TDs in 10 Games MM: 8 TDs in 7 Games EJ: 1,979 yards, 6.44 avg MM: 1,547 yards, 7.33 avg EJ: 77.7 rtg; 42.3 QBR MM: 76.1 rtg; 49.5 QBR Honestly, 2013 as a guide...the two were pretty damn similar in stats. On O'Brien...the PSU channels are extremely quiet. Recruits who previously said "obrien told me today he was staying, ignore the noise" are now backing away, and all of them are using the same terminology "i have spoke to obrien and i am comfortable with the situation". almost appears as if it is talking points, and someone told them to back off on their rheteric. Other reports indicate obrien is negotiating with PSU *AND* houston, and that his demands of PSU are minor. The biggest sticking point appears to not be money, but additional football resources, which the university is afraid of providing in fear of stoking the "football culture" issue. This sounds like a big bold power play by obrien against the PSU administration (which does not have alumni support i might add). I am about 60% sure he stays at PSU. Today should be interesting.

3 names likely to be discussed for psu. 1. Mike Munchack - psu grad 2. James Franklin, Vanderbilt HC 3. Greg Schiano

Shefter is a bum. A week ago he was finally "able to report" that Obrien reduced his buyout making him more attractive to nfl teams. While grew, this was not breaking news, and not worthy of espn's home screen. Anyone following penn state knew this 6 months ago. Schefter fluff piece: http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/92044/obriens-reduced-buyout-widens-nfl-door Real story from June: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/20/bill-obriens-buyout-would-be-affordable-for-an-nfl-owner/ The. Schefter comes out and says Obrien is the top guy and they are working on a deal (http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10205777/bill-obrien-penn-state-nittany-lions-coach-working-deal-become-houston-texans-head-coach) Then the owner of the texans says: not true. More interviews coming. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/28/texans-owner-says-other-candidates-will-interview-next-week/ Obrien tells 5 star recruits recruits and star QB not true. I'm staying. http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2013/12/28/5252328/bill-obrien-penn-state-houston-texans-thomas-holley-chirstian-hackenberg Ten penn state picks up a new 3 star commit http://victorybellrings.com/2013/12/28/penn-state-football-recruiting-nittany-lions-add-3-star-ol/ Now the are interviewing wisenhunt, and people think its because talks broke down... This is ALL espn spin. It's house of cards...nfl style. Which coincidentally would make a great miniseries somewhere. Based on everything I think i know of Obrien, the man is not going anywhere. Last year he did basically the same thing, telling his recruits he is not going anywhere. http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2013/01/bill_obrien_is_staying_at_penn.html I gotta believe this is all smokescreens (by all parties). http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/28/beware-smokescreens-and-misdirections/. I'll believe it when it's announced. Not until then.

Let me add one more layer since this is a bills board. Obrien and Doug marrone are best friends (I.e. best man in each others weddings - or at least in one of their weddings...I can't recall). Marrone came out last month and said he doesn't see Obrien leaving either. http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/11/06/doug-marrone-says-bill-obrien-not-leaving-penn-state-for-nfl/ More plot thickening.... George oleary is a close friend of obriens. Together they set up a game (psu vs ucf) in Ireland next year, billed as o'brien vs o'leary. I gotta think Obrien is looking forward to that...although its probably the last reason to not take an nfl job.

Well...true...although I would argue that mcgloin didn't really play his way out of the job. He played decent enough. Probably Better than Manuel this year. Regardless, if you asked me 2 years ago, I would have said mcgloin was a 3rd stringer at penn state, with ZERO chance at an nfl practice squad. Instead he broke penn state records after Obrien came on. It's stunning he STARTED an nfl game this year. 5 star qbs are lining up at penn state because of mcgloin and Obrien, who is getting the reputation as a great QB coach. I think the tea leaves are lined up that he states at penn state this year. But i can see where this Houston job is tempting. But at the end of the day, I think Houston goes with lovie smith.

A couple comments on this. 1. While his 15-9 record is not great, he kept the team together, and continued the psu tradition of success with honor. His intangibles are through the roof. 2. Matt Mcgloin was a worthless scrub walkon QB (and a bad one) until Obrien. Now he is the starter for the raiders. This is nothing short of a miracle for anyone who saw mcgloin pre Obrien. 3. Obrien needs more time learning to be a head coach. His in game management is very poor. 4. He is a man of extreme integrity. He has promised his kids will stay at psu for 4 years (min). As recently as today he has told recruits "ignore the noise, I'm staying at penn state" 5. One of his kids is disabled and requires significant care. The penn state area is one of the top areas in the country for the care he needs. Coincidentally, Houston is also very good, but it is possible no amount of money will be enough to change health care providers again. 6. He has a 6m buyout at penn state. That is significant for any nfl team to pay for an unproven coach. All things considered, I'd take a chance on him if I was an nfl team. But I think all parties would be better suited if he stayed in the college game for a couple more years.

Pats lost. Playoff dreams are now (officially) over. Ugh.

Must be that penn state culture problem we've heard so much about. Good thing this kid is being punished, and not allowed to play in a bowl game...

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/%20280064/ Call him in!

I was never so much anti-lynch, as I was anti-whatever-the-heck-we-do-with-running-backs-in-buffalo. For some reason, our front office went through a stretch (and still are I fear) where they feel they need a top notch RB to be successful, and they keep drafting running backs when we dont need one. In 2003 we had Travis Henry. No need to take a luxury pick on Willis McGahee. Sure he turned out good, but we didnt need to do that. In 2007 we had McGahee, yet we drafted Marshawn Lynch. In 2010 we take CJ Spiller...yet we had Lynch & Fred Jackson. If the trend continues...We are due for a 1st round RB pick in 2014! Or we can just use FA pickups at RB. My god, look at how many low-draft pick RBs are dominating in this league. You dont need first round RBs anymore (unless they are the elite Peterson type backs). This is probably my biggest grip about the front offices of the past. When was the last time you ever heard a team in the NFL say "you know what...we really need to find us a good RB...our RB play is KILLING us"?! Never! Because anyone with a pulse can run through a hole if it exists.

Dont fire Marrone...but I am of the mind you take a 1st round QB every year until you find one...

The good news is that htey have to pull these out at the last minute these days... The end is near. Hopefully it coincides with our rise...

Its comical at this point. But if we win out (highly doubtful), not too much unrealistic needs to happen to let us get in. Basically the "better/favorite" team needs to win all games except: Week 16: Green Bay over PIT, Cleveland over Jets Week 17: Jets over Miami Do-able...but we need to win out...which is just laughable.

Oh god. Seriously...Its bad when I stop and think of all the heartbreaking games over the years. Let me add a couple. 2004 - vs Jacksonville - Jacksnoville Touchdown as time expires...Lose 13-10 2005 - vs Pittsburgh - Week 17...all we need is a win vs. their 3rd stringers to make the playoffs...and we lose. 2007 - MNF vs Dallas - Tony Romo throws 5 INTs, and the bills lose after Dallas scores 9 points in 20 seconds Ugh. Why do I like this team...