This guy was leading a Division-1 program that was saddled with the loss of significant scholarships, a program that was reeling from one of the major scandals in NCAA history and, on top of all that, he was doing so with a loud faction of the fans (and, perhaps, the administration) still longing for the time when Joe Paterno coached them. The rant is interesting not only because it hints at O’Brien’s imminent departure, but because it illustrates the pressure O’Brien was working under at Penn State. “That’s why, in probably about a month, they’re gonna be looking for a new coach.” It was during this rant that O’Brien dropped the major bomb. As long as I’m the head football coach here.” That’s all I care about is the kids in that program. I’m trying to do the best I can for the kids in that program. Every time I say something like that and somebody prints it, it’s skewed as an excuse. “I’m trying to field the most competitive football team I can with near-death penalty sanctions. “For any ‘Paterno person’ to have any objection to what I’m doing, it makes me wanna put my fist through this windshield right now.” So I could really care less about what the Paterno faction of people, or whatever you call them, think about what I do with the program. I’ve done everything I can to show respect to Coach Paterno. “You can print this: You can print that I don’t really give a what the ‘Paterno people’ think about what I do with this program. Many fans were upset about Vanderlinden’s exit, as he was one of the few remaining ties to the Joe-Pa era, and wanted answers as to whose decision it was for Vanderlinden to leave. The rant came about due to a question about the negative backlash from “Paterno-era loyalists” who were upset about the dismissal (or resignation) of Ron Vanderlinden, an assistant coach who had been on the staff under Joe Paterno. In an article published by Pennsylvania’s Patriot News, columnist David Jones described a heated, off-the-record rant that former Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien had with him on the phone in December, a rant in which O’Brien hinted that he was thinking about leaving the school.
Maybe Bill O’Brien leaving Penn State for the Houston Texans wasn’t such a jerk move after all.
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