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Coaching Staff Fills Out

Posted on January 11, 2012 Written by The Nittany Turkey

It’s been a while since I have been able to find some unfettered writing time, but so much has happened at Penn State that I better shake the jumble of ideas out of my head before they become so passé that I’ll be regarded as a historian instead of a current events commentator. We mainly concentrate on assistant coaching hires here, none of which as yet have been announced officially by Penn State. Such an announcement should come soon, because incoming head football coach Bill O’Brien had imposed a deadline of Wednesday (today) upon himself for hiring seven assistants. It appears as if he has met this goal. Counting rehired Paterno assistants Larry Johnson and Ron Vanderlinden, O’Brien has hired or is in the process of hiring eight assistants.

On Wednesday, Penn State Sports Information Director Jeff Nelson said, “Penn State will officially announce Coach O’Brien’s staff once all University employment procedures have been completed.”

Before we start on coaching issues, yesterday President Rod Erickson, who had the “Interim” removed from his title recently, reset himself to interim status when he announced that he would stick around only until 2014. I hope that is enough time to get over all this Sandusky crap and begin the new president’s tenure without all its baggage. By that time, perhaps the BOT will have some different members.

So, what’s going on with the coaches, you ask? Well, that’s what I’m really here to squawk about, so let’s get started.

First of all, who won’t be retained from the present staff? Thus far, we know that Bill Kenney (tight ends/offensive tackles), Kermit Buggs (defensive backs), and Jay Paterno (quarterbacks) will be hitting the road. While the status of Dick Anderson (guards and centers), and Galen Hall (offense/running backs) is not yet known, the likelihood is that they’ll retire. They’re both older than this Turkey, who himself is older’n dirt. Hell, Anderson is so old that he was my sophomore Phys Ed instructor in 1965. Hall has long been forthright in stating that when Joe Paterno retires, so will he. Joe didn’t retire, but it’s time for Galen to play some shuffleboard. Tom “Scrap” Bradley (defensive coordinator and acting head coach) was caught in a bind, and will be leaving the University, although this has not been finalized as yet. Neither has the fate been decided of the beleaguered Mike McQueary (wide receivers), presently on administrative leave, is a central figure in the prosecution’s case against Jerry Sandusky. However, AOL Sports has reported that he will probably not return.

You can expect that the offense will be completely overhauled. This is a very good thing, even for Penn Staters who think that having coaches on the staff for thousands of years, some essentially in patronage positions, is a good thing. Fran Ganter took an administrative job when the “too many cooks” offensive play calling system was installed by Old Joe, probably to get Jay involved. Ganter didn’t like it, but what choice did he have, given that the great dictatorial dad had spoken. Who knows whether we would have had a real offense at Penn State if Ganter had stuck around for the past ten years. It is quite possible that he was there too long, too. It is even more possible that Joe would have throttled back any kind of spirited offensive plan that Ganter had implemented. Fullback dives and the occasional, slow developing end-around make for a predictable offense. Is it any wonder that Penn State was among the worst producers of NCAA’s top division? So, complete change in offense will be just what the doctor ordered. We don’t know what will happen to Ganter, who is presently Associate Athletic Director for Football Administration, but this Turkey thinks it is likely that he will quietly retire.

(On an unrelated tangent, but one that must have entered some of your quick minds, one has to wonder how much or little Ganter knew about Sandusky’s alleged molestations. Fran, being the forgotten man, is at least titularly involved in running the football program, although we’re pretty sure that Joe Paterno was ruling the program like Julius Caesar ruled Rome. What do you think about Ganter?)

In Penn State’s case, the offensive change will start from the top. Bill O’Brien is the present offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. Accordingly, I believe he will want to call his own plays. He’ll have plenty of help on offense. It appears as if Charles London will coach running backs. London called Penn State a top-5, top-10 job, providing an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Most recently “quality control assistant” for the Tennessee Titans (whatever that is), he is the big question mark in this new set of assistants. Stan Hixon will probably coach wide receivers, coming from the Buffalo Bills, where he also coached wide receivers. I’m thinking that O’Brien will want to coach quarterbacks and be overall offensive coordinator. John Strollo, offensive line coach for Ball State, will coach tight ends. This leaves open the conjecture that Mac McWhorter will join the team. All that is known is that McWhorter, 61, was offered a job by O’Brien, presumably as offensive line coach, for which he would have to unretire. He had been with the University of Texas (Austin) since 2002, where he was initially tight ends and offensive tackles coach, and in 2005 was promoted to assistant head coach. McWhorter would seem to be a possible eventual choice for offensive coordinator, but there are many question marks as I write this.

Defensively, O’Brien made the smart move of retaining Larry Johnson (defensive line) and Ron Vanderlinden (linebackers). Very, very smart in so many ways. Obviously, and to Johnson’s and Vanderlinden’s credit, the defensive front seven consistently has been the very best part of this team for a long, long time. Their recruiting efforts have brought in some amazingly talented players, and they represent continuity in this year’s recruiting effort. Intangibles associated with their retention might be even more important, in that both were well regarded by fans and players, being associated with the aspect of the team that reflects Penn State’s image as a tough, grinding, run stopping, hard hitting, defensive football team. To have let them go would have painted O’Brien as a ruthless iconoclast and might well have caused an insurrection. On the other hand, I doubt that either will stay for very long under O’Brien and his new defensive coordinator Ted Roof, for whom O’Brien was offensive coordinator at Duke in 2005-6. Roof was also Minnesota’s defensive coordinator in 2008. However, many think that he was almost run out of town at Auburn, where up until last year he was defensive coordinator for three seasons. Johnson is nearing retirement age and Vanderlinden has some significant upside potential that he’ll no doubt want to exploit sometime in the future.

It is not known at present whether Kermit Buggs will be replaced by another defensive backfield coach.

Those of you who had long lamented Penn State’s step-child approach to special teams, take heart! O’Brien has hired South Carolina’s special teams coach, John Butler to handle similar duties for the Nittany Lions. During last year, Butler’s only year on the job for the Gamecocks, South Carolina was fair to middlin’ in kickoff and punt returns, but sucked badly in net punting (92nd in nation). Butler spent four years in the Big Ten, coaching Minnesota’s special teams and linebackers.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, none of these hires have been announced officially by Penn State, so there might some changes here and there.

Many of these assistants have connections to O’Brien from the past, as one would expect. Hiring an entire staff at once is an onerous proposition, which at this late stage must necessarily involve compromises. A lot of fans are wailing about O’Brien having hired a lot of old cronies from Georgia Tech and Duke, but where was he expected to find people on such short notice. It is easy for fans to say things like, “He should have hired Tony Sparano as offensive coordinator, and Jeff Fisher as defensive coordinator.” Yeah, right. Gimme a break. Timing, money, compatibility, and other factors all come into play.

That said, he’s got a lot of George O’Leary connections on the projected staff. Perhaps, when UCF gets tired of old George, they’ll fire him and he can apply for the permanent position of Athletic Director. (That’s a joke, son.)

I would expect to see fans, alums, and players scrutinize every hire from their personal points of view. Nothing wrong with that. Armchair staffing is as easily done as armchair quarterbacking — a collection of opinions that will never be tested and are therefore continually arguable. Besides, you know what they say about opinions.

So let’s hear from you, the Vast Disgruntled, and the Clam Happy! Tell me what you think is good or bad about these hires. Talk amongst yourselves. Discuss. Share. That’s what I’m here for!

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Filed Under: Penn State Football Tagged With: assistant coaches, Bill Bradley, Bill Kenney, Bill O'Brien, coordinator, Jay Paterno, Kermit Buggs, Penn State Football

Adam Taliaferro Wishes Nomination for BOT

Posted on January 11, 2012 Written by The Nittany Turkey

I got this information directly from Adam on Twitter, and it’s for real. Adam is a lawyer and incoming New Jersey state legislator. He will be a great BOT member.

If you wish to nominate Mr. Taliaferro (or any other qualified individual), I’m providing some information here. Here is a site directly from PSU on the structure of the BOT.  They must get 50 nominations. The nomination form link is at the bottom of the webpage.  Nomination deadline is in late February.  http://www.psu.edu/trustees/selection.html

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Filed Under: Penn State Football, Penn State Scandal

It’s Official!

Posted on January 7, 2012 Written by The Nittany Turkey

Finally, the formal announcement about Bill O’Brien‘s accession to the throne vacated by the ouster of King Joseph V occurred at an 11:30 am press conference. The king is dead. Long live the king! I dub thee King William I, ruler of all that is good in the Penn State football domain. Long live King William!

(I know, I know. It wasn’t as good as the Pope metaphor, but what do you want on a lazy Saturday?)

After a brief introduction by President Rod Erickson and interim athletic director Dave Joyner, O’Brien began his prepared speech. Clearly, it was not a polished, sanitized, memorized address. It was more like some bullet points scratched out and filled in with sincerity by the new coach. His speaking style is fairly casual, not completely grammatically sound, and occasionally laced with cliches such as “I can’t say enough about…”, “No words can express…”, or “I have to say…” O’Brien’s first order of business was giving thanks to those who had anything to do with getting this job, including his wife, to whom he referred as his “Chief of Staff”. Later, he supported his recruiting ability with another wife reference, that she was magna cum laude as a law student at Boston University, so he surely knows how to recruit.

The speech went pretty much as anyone would have expected, with the exception of one surprise: O’Brien said he talked to Larry Johnson last night at length and invited him to join the new coaching staff, which LJ accepted. As far as anyone knows now, he’ll be the defensive line coach. This was a good move for several reasons. First of all, I asked for it. I asked for Vanderlinden, too, but I suppose if one existing assistant coach were to be a priority to gather into the fold, it would be Johnson. This doesn’t necessarily preclude O’Brien from hiring other current members of the coaching staff, with whom he plans on talking today, but that he sought out Johnson and no one else says a lot. I’m sure many others would have wanted to keep Johnson, who has proven his competence through the years. Second, O’Brien is an offensive guy, so his defensive staff could use someone familiar with the existing players and sets. The play of the defensive line is the least questionable aspect of the defense, so it is a natural that its coach be the continuity guy. Third, it makes a lot of fans who were questioning O’Brien’s hire and fearing the loss of all that was familiar to them feel much more comfortable with the new regime. Finally, Larry is 60, so this will probably be his last job. Unlike Paterno, he’ll get to retire with no blemishes on his record.

As for the rest of O’Brien’s staff, he stated that he would be putting it together over the next two to three days. This, along with studying for the NCAA exam, passage through which is required before he can go on the recruiting trail, will fill the time that would otherwise be used for optional sleep.

Adding a little self-deprecating humor was a good idea. Pointing to his balding head, O’Brien said that he knows he looks like he’s 50, but he’s only 42.

He has committed to the New England Patriots that he will coach the offense through the playoff run and to the Super Bowl, if they get there. He supported this by stating that he had told the assembled current players that he talked to last night that he couldn’t stand in front of them and preach loyalty if he just walked off when the Pats needed him. ???? ??????? ?????????

O’Brien’s initial compensation package, including external contributions (yeah, you got it — Nike, radio, TV), will be $2.3 million per year for five years. The base salary is $950,000 with a provision for a five per cent raise each year, as well as performance incentives not to exceed $200,000. That’s a pretty reasonable package, considering that other Big Ten coaches are getting considerably more money. If this was the money offer all along, one has to wonder how many other candidates were not interested once they were given the salary specs.

After the canned part of the presser, O’Brien fielded questions from the audience, which included all the names you would expect to have received press credentials for the event. ????? ??? ?? ?????? O’Brien handled it well, providing sincere, informative responses to most of the questions posed. The one exception referred to who contacted whom originally about the Penn State job; O’Brien said that he didn’t want to get into that. (That led this Turkey to wonder whether Pat Forde’s speculation about Ron Jaworski’s and Ira Lubert’s involvement beyond merely being a member of the search committee was less fiction than fact. Call it the Jaws Controversy.)

Meanwhile, the old guard was preparing its goodbyes. Joe Paterno wished O’Brien luck and paid homage to their joint alma mater. Tom Bradley issued a statement as well, although through a public relations firm, he said that the statement should not be construed as a resignation.

By 2 pm, some of the former resistance to O’Brien’s hire seemed to be yielding to guarded expressions of good wishes for a successful tenure, at least as far as Tweeps I monitor are concerned. One exception I’ll note was former Penn State quarterback and current Seattle Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson, who fears that O’Brien is an NFL guy who is using Penn State to get some head coaching experience on the way to a much desired NFL job. Here are a couple of Robinson’s tweets:

Michael Robinson: Just MY opinion but I think the trustees blew the chance of getting Urban Meyer by how they handled Joe. Meyer is a “college” guy. ???? ?????

Michael Robinson: What recruit would come to a school that let the media mob dictate the direction of our university. Stand for nothing and fall for anything

Michael Robinson: Sorry twitter I have some strong feelings about this that I will release via [The Real Robinson Report] soon. I understand our alums frustration

Having seen these tweets, former Nittany Lion starting center A.Q. Shipley tried to calm Robinson down a bit:

AQ Shipley: @RealMikeRob you have a lot of very valid questions my man! He seemed impressive and im excited to meet him and see what hes about also!

I haven’t seen anything recent from LaVar Arrington, who was the most vociferous of the anti-O’Brien squad. Nor have I heard lately from D.J. Dozier or Brandon Short, who as representatives of the Lettermen’s Club, threatened to sue Penn State over the use of their names in connection with marketing or recruitment, although it was reported that Dozier softened a bit later when he saw how Tom Brady spoke of O’Brien as a coach: “I don’t know much about O’Brien — when you read quotes like the one from Tom Brady about what kind of coach he is, that’s a pretty strong endorsement from one of the best quarterbacks in football, or the best quarterback in football”. Back to Threat City, one of the potential sanctions proposed by the lettermen, who were accompanied to the meeting by Tom Bradley’s attorney, was to cajole current players to transfer and current recruits to decommit. This is really dirty pool. Who did they want the committee to hire? Joe Paterno?

Arguably one of Penn State’s most successful pros, quarterback Kerry Collins urged peace on earth and goodwill toward new head coaches:

“Much is being said about the hiring of Bill O’Brien as the next football coach at Penn State. I do not know him. I have never met him nor been coached by him. One thing I do know is that I will support him and I call on all Penn State football lettermen to do the same. Whether you agree or disagree with his hiring, we should support him. Instead of chastising him for not being a Penn Stater, let’s show him what it means to be a Penn Stater. Coach O’Brien is faced with the daunting task of resurrecting our beloved, yet bruised program. Let’s support him in any way we can.”

Congratulations to Kerry Collins for being a man, not a whiner. I have to join his camp on this one. The Lettermen’s Club flexing its purported muscles should be condemned for its subversion.

The current players seem to be less troubled by the whole thing, although — who knows? — there might be a couple of transfers due to disgruntlement disguised as no-likee-coachee. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rob Bolden decided to bolt. On the other hand, Matt McGloin issued the following statement:

“I am excited about the hiring and some of the players I have spoken with are excited as well. I am anxious to get spring ball started and am ready for a fresh start. I think Coach O’Brien will lead us in the right direction and am looking forward to working with someone who has a lot of experience with quarterbacks. I think it is a great hire and a great thing for Penn State football.”

At this point, it’s a done deal, so we don’t have to agree with it, but it would be needless frustration to oppose it at this point. Although I was on board with O’Brien before he was hired, and hoped that he would be the guy who got hired, many of you will take more convincing. At this point, now that he is a Penn Stater, his actions will speak louder than our conjectures. I hope that you will have the patience to ride with this decision and give O’Brien your support while you’re making your mind up about him.

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Filed Under: Penn State Football Tagged With: Bill O'Brien, head coach, Lettermen's Club, Penn State Football

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The Nittany Turkey is a retired techno-geek who thinks he knows something about Penn State football and everything else in the world. If there's a topic, we have an opinion on it, and you know what "they" say about opinions! Most of what is posted here involves a heavy dose of hip-shooting conjecture, but unlike some other blogs, we don't represent it as fact. Read More…

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