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This has been a long and difficult year for fans and alumni of the Penn State Nittany Lions. It is a year that they would love to forget for several reasons with the football team but got a shining light in coach Bill O’Brien, who led Penn State to eight wins this year even with the NCAA ban on bowl games. This week, O’Brien interviewed for the open Cleveland Browns head coaching job and while O’Brien decided that he is going to stay at Penn State, I’m not sure how much longer he will wait before going back to the National Football League.
O’Brien is definitely a NFL guy with his background and while rebuilding Penn State is a special job that he has done very well in his first year, things are likely heading downhill starting next season since most of the stars of this year’s team will be gone. There are just too many restrictions and not enough scholarships to get the quality of talent that is needed at Penn State to compete. Penn State may struggle to get to four or five wins the next few years and O’Brien may start looking for the door.
I believe that is only a matter of time before O’Brien leaves. It wasn’t this year and it may not be next year either but within three years, I’m confident O’Brien will go back to the NFL for a head coaching position. He has done such a great job at Penn State though that a lot of people are going to feel betrayed if he leaves but if a job with the New England Patriots or something pops up, O’Brien is likely to move on.
Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports or like his Facebook page.
