Penn State Football: Bill O'Brien Should Only Take Head Coach Job as Last Resort

The Penn State Nittany Lions are planning to meet with New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Penn State is hoping that the 42-year-old coordinator will succeed Joe Paterno and become another member of Bill Belichick’s tree to branch off and become a head coach.

If O’Brien is smart, he’ll consider his other options before joining the beleaguered program.

One of those is possibly to stay in the NFL and become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Schefter (he’s all over these coaching vacancies) received a tip that the Jags had asked permission from Belichick to speak with his coordinator, along with a few others from around the league.

Joe Linta, O’Brien’s agent, said his client would be willing to field these requests and discuss his future.

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"Bill is focusing on another Super Bowl run," he said Sunday. "However, if an NFL team or Penn State seeks permission from Bill Belichick, then Bill will speak to them."

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O’Brien would be crazy to jump to Penn State and risk being another Charlie Weis-type of New England assistant that moved to head coach a big-name school and failed miserably.

He’d also be inheriting a program that has had their reputation destroyed by the Jerry Sandusky scandal and will have an incredibly hard time convincing recruits to play in such a tainted place.

It would be the first head-coaching gig of his career, something that would not be easy to manage in the shadow of Paterno and fallout of Sandusky.

Staying in the NFL, if possible, would be the best course of action for O’Brien, who has had immense success with Tom Brady and the New England offense since he took over his current position this past season.

If Jacksonville wants him, rather than accepting the near-impossible task of restoring Penn State’s glory, O’Brien should take the Jaguars up on it.