Nothing Personal but ...I hope O'Brien Fails in NFL

He's just one of the guys they listed...

The Harrisburg Patriot-News reported Thursday that Vanderbilt coach James Franklin, Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano would be in play. Miami's Al Golden (a former Penn State tight end) would again be floated as a possibility, though it remains to be seen whether Golden, who just dodged sanctions at Miami this season, would want to go through it all again at Penn State. As is the case for every Upper Midwestern coaching search, Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald would be mentioned.

Mississippi State's Dan Mullen, Packers offensive coordinator Tom Clements, and 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman were among the most widely reported potential Nittany Lions candidates last time around ... at least among those who haven't either been locked up since then (like Chris Petersen) or fallen off the map (like Mike London).

All of that is dependent on O'Brien's decision, though. The next couple of weeks are going to get interesting. Buckle up.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/12/27/5246630/bill-obrien-penn-state-nfl-coach-rumors

 

I'm sure Jeff Pearlman will write a blog post about what scum he is, as he often does. He still at the Tennessean?

 

The problem I have with this is that coaches are allowed to negotiate contracts that allow them to leave for greener pastures, but players aren't allowed to negotiate any of their deals, and have to sit out one or two years if they do decide to leave.

The NCAA's whole "we can't have bidding wars for players!" is hypocritical, because there already are bidding wars for coaches.

 

I am not saying that PSU cannot win without O'Brien.

I am expressing disgust with how O'Brien makes promises to players to entice them to go to PSU rather than (insert alternative college/university) then fails to fulfill the promise. Meanwhile kids, as Baron writes above, do not get any of the same flexibility.

Is O'Brien the first to defraud players? No. But he should not get a free pass on criticism. This is just another example of how NCAA sports is screwed up and screws the players.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't so much the money, or the sanctions, but the environment in Happy Valley. You never want to be the guy who follows the guy…He'd always be the stepmom.

 

I missed your screed when Jim Harbaugh left those Stanford players high and dry as they were aiming for a national championship.

 

Not even close to the same situation.

Apparently, according to most of the posters on this thread, it's okay to lie and take advantage of people as long as you are doing it the same way others do it.

 

When did anyone come out and say they were defrauded by Harbaugh?

 

In one word, disagree.

In nearly every job I've had, the people who have hired me haven't been there when I left. OK, there was a firing or two along the line, but should they have bypassed an opportunity to better their situation, just out of loyalty to some corporate entity? Also, when I left, it was an opportunity. Was I supposed to stay around because the folks at the animal shelter loved my stirring stories about the Pet of the Week?

Yet I'm supposed to get weepy-eyed for the kids when coaches move on? Oh, and if a coach is fired, is the administration equally as guilty of being disloyal to the kids? Job changes happen. If anything, it's a lesson for the players.

 

1. Who is supposedly claiming that they were "defrauded" here?

2. Defrauded of WHAT?

I do believe "defraud", by definition, requires the taking of money or something of actual measurable or tangible value. Having your football coach depart for a better job does not count. Defrauding is a crime, it's what Bernie Madoff does. O'Brien is neither committing a crime nor defrauding anyone, he's simply taking rational career steps that you disapprove of here, but apparently not when not Jim Harbaugh does the same thing.

 

You don't have to sit out a year if you leave the Podunk Shopping News, nor do you have to get their permission to go to a different paper under the threat of making you sit out two years. And you are allowed to seek more money than what the Podunk Shopping News is already paying you.

 

You should be weepy-eyed because, although the NCAA says it's not so, the coach is a primary reason why players choose a school. If that wasn't the case, then coaches wouldn't be spending so much time on the recruiting trail.