Penn Staters Outraged over Bill O'Brien Hire Remain Tone Deaf

Newly named Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien can't seem to garner any support from both Penn State alumni and the current student body. I'm not so sure he should even want it.

It's not even that they believe he's not qualified for the position as a football coach, it's because he's not part of the Penn State "family."

THAT'S THE POINT!

It's been two months since the news of Jerry Sandusky's initial arrest for sex crimes against children. And with all of the information that has come out, many current and former members of the Penn State "family" still refuse to acknowledge the magnitude of what occurred.

They don't want to acknowledge the tens, if not hundreds of victims left in the wake. They just want to make sure they don't hire an "outsider" to run their precious football program.

Former Penn State All-American linebacker Brandon Short says, "I don't want to be affiliated with the university if they don't choose a Penn State guy because of our standards, our graduation, all the things that have been important...it's no longer Penn State."

If that means that children are going to stop being sexually assaulted on campus, shouldn't Short be happy that "it's no longer Penn State"?

Another ex-Penn State All-American, D.J. Dozier, also expressed his disapproval of Bill O'Brien:

"It's my belief that the current coaching staff has done a pretty good job over the last few years," Dozier said. "It's politics, it's fall out, it's everything that has nothing to do with a program and continuing to build a solid program."

In fact, D.J, it's not politics, it's human decency. The current coaching staff and athletic department you speak of had multiple members that not only knew about the sexual acts, but by failing to report them allowed them to continue for the better part of a decade.

Though interim coach Tom Bradley was never specifically mentioned as having knowledge of the acts, the "family" atmosphere around Penn State and his close relationship with Sandusky over the years allows one to make reasonable assumptions.

Former Butkus award winning Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington showed incredible passion in his objection of hiring O'Brien:

"I will put my Butkus (Award) in storage. I will put my Alamo Bowl MVP trophy in storage," Arrington said. "Jerseys, anything Penn State, in storage. I'm done with Penn State."

You know when it would have been an appropriate time to utter the words "I'm done with Penn State" LaVar? When it was discovered that Jerry Sandusky was raping children in the Nittany Lion locker room and not a single soul associated with your university cared enough to do anything about it. That's when.

But way to have the courage to speak up now.

Hiring a coach that may be crazy enough to believe that such behavior is wrong and has absolutely zero ties to anything Penn State shouldn't be a cause for anger, it should be the one thing that earns support in this whole mess.

Word is that O'Brien's struggle won't only be with the support of the fan-base, but with recruiting as well, due to the base of Joe Paterno-loving high school football coaches across the state of Pennsylvania. Maybe I'm crazy, but I tend to think it would be more challenging to sell parents on the idea of sending their kids to play for a staff that was in place while the safety of children was endangered. No?

O'Brien seems to be a very good hire. Though never officially a head coach, he spent 14 years coaching at various positions in Division I college football. He also spent three years as Tom Brady's quarterback's coach in New England, and has spent the last year as the Patriots offensive coordinator. Not only did he learn from one of the best football coaches of all time in Bill Belichick, but he seems to be just the no-nonsense passionate guy that this ravaged program needs.

It's just too bad he doesn't have a Penn State degree...

My only hope is that O'Brien doesn't sacrifice his values in order to cater to the cult of deranged Nittany Lion faithful who still can't fathom why Joe Paterno isn't on the sidelines.

His first priority should be to publicly denounce everything that went on under the former regime; to explain to everyone that what happened is not OK, that it won't be tolerated under his supervision. If he has to ruffle the feathers of some fans and boosters by speaking out against the Penn State "family," so be it.

I don't believe Bill O'Brien is going to succeed as the head football coach at Penn State University. Not because he isn't a good coach or doesn't have the make-up for it, but because he's an outsider who will never be welcomed into the enshrouded existence that is Happy Valley.

It isn't my intent to paint everyone associated with the University with a broad brush. I'm sure that there is a large collection of former and current members of the Penn State community who are utterly embarrassed by everything that went on and what is being said—I just wish they would be more vocal about it.

The Nittany Lion "family" is being broken up, the future of the program is headed in a different direction. Hiring Bill O'Brien is a break from the tradition that embodied Penn State Football over the last few decades.

That's the idea.