The Lions' Pride

While I liked the story, he still needs to coach a game first.

My take on judging O'Brien based on our on-field performance is that - to be fair to him - we'd likely have to wait a few seasons. Until the kids he's recruited are in the program and have developed into starters, it's unfair to judge him as a head coach. But everything he has done so far - from hiring his staff, to keeping the team in tact during the most challenging time perhaps EVER for a first time head coach - he has done just an amazing job. And then I also have some personal reasons why I really admire him.... he and his wife Colleen helped my son fundraise - gave up a Saturday night - almost 3 hours of their time.... so I know firsthand what a great guy he is.....

what would have to happen this year for him to still be considered a "good to great" hire? this may be the only season where he has a legitimate chance for a winning season for a few years, so I'm curious, if he wins, say 9 games this year and the offense takes off, but the next couple years we win 7 or 6 games bc of the sanctions, is BOB still a success?

I think if he can make McGloin into a 2500+ yd, 60+% comp. passer at a 3:1 td to int ratio, that would be considered a successful hire..

If he could make hack stick, that would be a successful hire

If the defense is as stingy as it was before (less than 20 pts per game), that would be a success

Yes, I think if he wins 9 games this year and around 6 for the next couple after that, then I'd say he's a successful hire given the circumstances. He will still have pretty solid overall talent this year, but I think it will be much more challenging to get above .500 a few years down the road given all the sanctions that kick in.

Unfortunately, I think whatever on-the-field results we see won't be true OB and he can't fairly be judged by them He's had to deal with more than anyone else as a football coach, ever. Free agency for his own team, overwhelming sanctions, etc. If the team wins 7 this year instead of 9, is he a failure? Or is a team raided of its top RB, WR, and top 2011 recruits just not going to be as good as we think?

More importantly, all the good work he was doing in recruiting (recruiting FL, TX, practically owning NJ, building relationships with high school coaches) is basically entirely wasted, so the improvements we would have seen in that area are gone.

Pr-sanctions, I was very worried about him on the field. Duke's offense wasn't exactly a juggernaut, and lets face is, Bellichick could pick an empty chair to coach Brady and that team was going to the playoffs.

Now, I don't see a fair way to judge. We have not idea what Urban Myer, Chris Peterson, Mack Brown, or Joe Paterno could do in this situation. Just hoping for us to continue to produce men like Zordich and Mauti.

Or, another way to look at it is - did Dukes finally realize staying was his best option? Hopefully the kid takes full advantage of this opportunity and runs with reckless abandon when given the ball.....

So far he’s a great hire! At this point, I don’t think it’s fair to say “ he still needs to coach a game first” or “let’s see what he does on the field before we say he was a great hire.” This man has been a Penn Stater for 8 months and has already proved massively successful with EVERYTHING he has done. No coach in the history of college football has had to put up with something like this. He knew what he was getting into (maybe not exactly to this degree) and jumped in with both feet. The guy always says the right thing. It’s obvious that players and recruits respect the hell out of him. While wins and losses are important, being a “molder of men” is also what Penn State football is about. BOB has been dealt a crappy hand, but he’s going all in with this crappy hand. Not the point in time to base success on what happens on the field. It’s going to be tough not to expect success on the field this year with his 8 month track record of slaying it!

While I agree, Coach O'Brien has to coach the team between the lines, personally it is my impression that he is THE right guy for this job at this time, given these circumstances. While I am not an insider, I have made numerous attempts to come into contact with the coach since he took the job, and each time he has not disappointed, and delivered a message that gives me hope for the football team, the university and Nittany Nation not just for the next few years, but for the long term.
The initial firing/hiring process was anything but smooth, and he has handled every aspect of the transition with a certainty and resolution that leaves me feeling comfortable that the program is in good hands. When he was hired he could have had the contract stipulation to give himself an out should sanctions come down, and noone would have blamed him, but he accepted an extension in light of sanctions. Again, he is saying, I'll stick this out and make it work in spite of a tough situation....Let's face it, following Joe was going to be a no-win situation for whoever they hired, but add the JS bullshit, Freeh railroading, sanctions, media backlash and so on this guy has stood tall in the midst of it all and has kept his focus on moving forward. He has earned my respect, support and forgiveness (for being a Patriot/Belicheat disciple).. WE ARE......

damn typos...

I agree.... and it seems like he is really mixing in a lot of team building too..... taking a bit of the stress away. Paintball today - kids are tweeting how much things like this are bringing them closer.