Bill O ' Brien ( American football ) Bill O ' Brien ( born October 23 , 1969 ) is is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions . He was hired in 2012 to take over a program that had just endured the Penn State child sex abuse scandal . In his first season as head coach , he led the team to an 8 - 4 record and won ESPN ' s National Coach of the Year award . O ' Brien began his coaching career in 1993 with Brown before spending more than a decade coaching in the ACC . He joined the New England Patriots in 2007 where he eventually served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 2011 . After the 2012 season , O ' Brien garnered significant interest to return to the National Football League ( NFL ) as a head coach and interviewed with both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns . Ultimately , O ' Brien decided to stay at Penn State citing that it would send a poor message to leave after just one season . Playing career . After graduating from St . John ' s Preparatory School in Danvers , Massachusetts , O ' Brien attended Brown University in Providence , Rhode Island , where he played defensive end and linebacker for the Bears from 1990 – 92 . Coaching career . College assistant . O ' Brien ' s first coaching position was at Brown , where he coached tight end s in 1993 then inside linebackers in 1994 . He would then spend the next three seasons ( 1995 – 1997 ) as an offensive graduate assistant at Georgia Tech . He then coached the Yellow Jackets ' running back s from the 1998 season through 2000 season . From 2001 to 2002 , O ' Brien served as offensive coordinator and quarterback s coach and was named an assistant head coach for the 2002 season . In 2002 Bill was hired as Notre Dame ' s offensive Coordinator before George O ' Leary was dismissed . As offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech in 2001 and 2002 , his teams averaged 31 and 21 . 5 points per game , respectively as the teams went 9 – 4 and 7 – 6 . In 2003 , he left to coach running backs at the University of Maryland , where he spent two seasons before accepting the position of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Duke in 2005 . As offensive coordinator at Duke in 2005 and 2006 , his teams averaged 16 . 1 and 14 . 9 points per game . New England Patriots . After two seasons with Duke , O ' Brien was hired by the New England Patriots on February 27 , 2007 as an offensive assistant . On February 21 , 2008 , O ' Brien was promoted to wide receivers coach . He became the quarterbacks coach and offensive play - caller following the 2008 season after the departure of quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels . He was promoted to offensive coordinator in February 2011 . The Patriots gave the Jacksonville Jaguars permission to interview O ' Brien for their head coaching vacancy during the Patriots ' playoff bye week ; O ' Brien was scheduled for an interview , but never actually interviewed for the job . Instead , O ' Brien interviewed with Penn State staff on January 5 , 2012 , was offered the head coach position , and signed a four - year contract to become the Nittany Lions ' coach . O ' Brien continued as New England ' s offensive coordinator through Super Bowl XLVI . Penn State . O ' Brien was hired as Penn State ’ s 15th head football coach , replacing Joe Paterno , who was also a Brown alumnus . He was introduced as the head coach at a press conference on January 7 , 2012 . Response to sanctions . Due to the Penn State child sex abuse scandal , on July 24 , 2012 the National Collegiate Athletics Association ( NCAA ) sanctioned Penn State with a four - year postseason ban , and loss of 40 scholarships over a four - year period . In light of these NCAA sanction , O ' Brien issued the following statement : " Today we receive a very harsh penalty from the NCAA and as head coach of the Nittany Lions football program , I will do everything in my power to not only comply , but help guide the University forward to become a national leader in ethics , compliance and operational excellence . I knew when I accepted the position that there would be tough times ahead . But I am committed for the long term to Penn State and our student athletes . I was then and I remain convinced that our student athletes are the best in the country . I could not be more proud to lead this team and these courageous and humble young men into the upcoming 2012 season . Together we are committed to building a better athletic program and university " . Because of a clause in his contract , O ' Brien received an automatic four - year extension which guaranteed an extra year for every year of sanctions put on the program . 2012 . In his first game as Penn State ' s head coach , the Nittany Lions lost to the Ohio University Bobcats , 24 – 14 . O ' Brien ' s first win as the Penn State head coach took place on September 15 , 2012 , with a 34 – 7 win against the United States Naval Academy at Beaver Stadium , University Park , PA . Despite the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal , his first season as coach at Penn State was far more successful than anticipated , and resulted in a final record of 8 - 4 . O ' Brien collected the most wins for a 1st year head coach in school history , and was awarded Big Ten Coach of the Year on November 27th , 2012 . O ' Brien was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by both the media and the coaches . On December 8 , 2012 , O ' Brien was named the national coach of the year by ESPN . On January 17 , 2013 , O ' Brien was awarded the 2012 Paul " Bear " Bryant College Coach of the Year Award . NFL interest . In January 2013 , O ' Brien interviewed for the head coaching position with the Cleveland Browns . However , he decided to remain at Penn State , stating : " I ’ m not a one - and - done guy . I made a commitment to these players at Penn State and that ’ s what I am going to do . I ’ m not gonna cut and run after one year , that ’ s for sure . " He was also interviewed by the Philadelphia Eagles