The Lions' Pride

Right. I don't like him playing games when we have recruits to win over and players to keep. If he keeps this up after Wiscy I will be livid. I understand why he's doing it now, but I don't like it. I can't be too mad about doing it now, but if they ask him the same Q after Wiscy and he has the same BS answer, I will begin to get very angry. And I feel like most fans will too. For a guy that played the media perfectly for so long, I think this is his first mistake... So like I said, can't be too mad right now, although it's frustrating to see arguably our best offensive player talking about being unsure- in any way. But after Wiscy this needs to be a non-issue. Or we will start to see kids leaving and recruits taking other officials.

Why would you think that he wouldn't do what Saban did? Maybe not now with no real HC experience except this year... But they are both from the BB tree, and are pretty close. BOB is going to do what's best for his career. Right now, staying and building this is best. But coaches lie all the time. I understand whats going on (vying for a raise), but I still am frustrated... But I get it.

Even if its 9.5 million, that is still a considerable amount - especially for a school to pay.

That said, another drawing conclusions thread on this board when there is nothing to see here. Again, people can start worrying when we find out he is interviewing somewhere else, IF he does - regardless what the rumor mill says.

Why would he want to pay $18 million for BOB? Look, the guy means A LOT to us, but try viewing this from the outside. BOB is a 4 or 5 loss coach with no big wins and a price tag to boot just to get him away from his current situation. There are going to be a lot of big names available (Chip Kelly being one). BOB is only getting mentioned because the media underestimated our talent and they think he did an amazing job. He did do a great job, but he did have a lot of talent to work with.

When I say "what Saban did," I mean straight out lie to the media. Maybe he does lie sometimes, but I see BOB having more integrity than Saban. JMO.

The problem is that he didn't come out and say it, so speculation is running a muck. I dont think he is going anywhere, but again, recruits read and perception matters. He needs to say what you just wrote after Wiscy. Period. Crush this nonsense.

He is a billionaire because he doesn't throw around $18 million when he doesn't have to.

This^

Even if OB's buyout is for ~$9.5 million, I would assume he would want a modest raise (at least) so that would be about $3 million per year for about 5 years (~$15 million total).

I don't think many business men would think it was a wise decision to pay $25 million, effectively $5 million per year for a guy that has coached 12 games.

Just to note:
If you include the buyout, OB would become the 10th highest paid coach in the NFL ahead of Lovie Smith and John Harbaugh. If I was an owner, I would rather spend a bit more and throw everything (including the kitchen sink) at Gruden.

The buyout may stop him, but I fully expect Obrien to try to move on in the offseason.
If he was set on staying, he would have come out and said so.

This type of retarded thinking angers me and is why I think he needs to come out and crush this nonsense after Wiscy... Contracts are always negotiable and negotiations are becoming more and more public in this day and age. To not realize that is just short sighted Spulv. This statement is not true at all, and is why the media is viewed so negatively. I honestly don't know how you can say that with a straight face... Unless you are just trolling. In which case, good job

You think he's really going to press the issue that hard after only 1 year?

At least to me it's pretty clear what's going on. O'Brien is in the final week of the season. He's focused on playing Wisconsin. All of this attention scares way to many people, when in reality it's one of the best things that could happen for PSU. Why?

First, it's very very unlikely BOB is going anywhere. His buyout is huge at 18M. He voluntarily signed his extension that kicked in after the sanctions. That extension pretty much locked him into PSU (because of the buyout), which he obviously knew would happen. This is obvious evidence he's not interested in moving on.

Here's why it's good. Realize the amount of press BOB is getting as a disireable coach. According to the news outlets, half the NFL wants 'our' coach and the most desireable colleges with openings want 'our' coach. That's REALLY good for the profile of our coach, who when hired was considered relatively unknown. Everyone knows him now for multiple reasons.

Next, he'll eventually come out and say he's staying at PSU because he's loyal to the SCHOOL and the PLAYERS!! He'll swear his loyalty to his players and through that send a significant message to his players. He was confronted with some potential BIGTIME options and choose to stay and coach them. His players will be faced with similar decisions and hope this helps influence their choices.

BOB has a ton of leverage, that he can either use for HIMSELF....or PSU football. I think he's using that leverage for PSU football as well as just choosing not to answer dumb questions.

If I choose not to use logic I'll at least give BOB's character enough credit to realize he wouldnt be promising recruits he'll be around for their career only to walk away after year one.