Bill O'Brien Rumored to Become Penn State Head Coach

Several reports have been looming that Penn State has selected New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien to be the new head coach.

Fox Sports, USA Today, and NFL.com have all reported that O’Brien is going to replace Joe Paterno for the coveted position. O’Brien has been with the New England Patriots since 2007. He is in his first year as offensive coordinator.

Like Paterno, O’Brien is an alumnus of Brown where he was a linebacker and defensive end. He has coached at the college level for 14 years, at Brown, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Duke according to foxsports.com.

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Fightonstate.com, a site which covers news on the University’s athletic division, reported the acting athletic director, Dave Joyner, denies USA Today’s suggestion that Bill O'Brien will be the next head coach of the Nittany Lions.

After a Penn State pep rally on Sunday, Joyner told a small group of reporters outside the Cotton Bowl that there has been no selection of a head coach yet.

“Nope. Don't believe what you read in the newspapers. I was taught that a long time ago,” he said, according to Fightonstate.com.

“There is no deal with anybody,” he said.

Former head coach, Joe Paterno, was fired in November after accusations of child molestation were made against the assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky. During the accusations, it was discovered that Paterno had been made aware of the allegations and failed to act aggressively to bring about penalty for Sandusky.

Paterno served over 60 years with the school. He was assistant coach and then head coach for 46 years. Former defensive coordinator Tom Bradley has been the temporary head coach since then.

Jerry Sandusky is now on trial for several counts of sexual abuse including sodomy. Many of the accusations were alleged to have occurred on Penn State property.

Most of the now adult accusers said they met Sandusky through his Second Mile Charity which he started in 1977 for underserved, troubled youth. Sandusky maintains his innocence.