Penn State's Offense Will Be More Effective in 2012

Penn State's football coaching staff is coming together swiftly, as Bill O'Brien suggested it would on Saturday. O'Brien already has defensive line coach Larry Johnson, linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden and strength coach Joe Thomas back on the staff, and additions are being named in short time.

Tennessee Titans quality-control coach Charles London will be the new running backs coach. Ball State offensive line coach John Stollo has also been added to the Penn State staff, and he may end up coaching tight ends. Former Texas offensive line coach Mac McWhorter is thought to be heading to State College and there are unverified reports that Buffalo Bills wide receivers coach Stan Hixon could be taking the same title at Penn State, thus officially replacing Mike McQuery in the process.

Central Florida defensive coordinator Ted Roof is also joining the staff, despite some negative reaction from fans. While Roof's past is nothing to quite smile about, he has also never had guys like Johnson and Vanderlinden coaching with him either. 

The big name that is still somewhat floating out there is former Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen.

I think that Friedgen may join the Penn State staff as offensive coordinator. If it were to happen, then Penn State would be adding a coach who was 75-50 in 10 seasons as Maryland's head coach, and led the Terps to five bowl victories, which is three more wins than Maryland had in the 2011 season. Maryland enjoyed some good seasons under Friedgen, although the Terps only made one BCS-game appearance during his time, but he was well-respected by fans, alumni and the community.

Maryland ultimately forced the head coach out of his position in search of new life as a program. Well, we saw how that all played out in one year. Despite the actions taken by Maryland to remove Friedgen from the sidelines, Friedgen never showed a lack of desire to coach and suggested in his final postgame press conference that it was not his decision to step aside.

While we wait to see if O'Brien can talk his former boss into a return to the coaching game, I will say this: Covering Friedgen's final game, a blowout win against East Carolina in the 2010 Military Bowl, there was never a sign that Friedgen was happy about no longer coaching, and he never said that he would be done as well.

If he still has a desire to coach in some capacity, this would be a good situation for him. He is well-respected in Maryland to this day, especially after the season the Terps had in the first year of the post-Friedgen era under Randy Edsall, and he figures to have some strong ties in the region that could complement the relationships already owned by Larry Johnson.

Friedgen would also not be under the same kind of pressure a head coach would be, with reduced responsibilities, and for Penn State the addition would be somewhat revolutionary. After a few years of split play-calling between Jay Paterno and Galen Hall, having one man in charge of the offensive scheme would probably benefit the offense as a whole, regardless of who takes the position.

O'Brien said during his initial press conference on Saturday that he would be calling the plays in his first season, and he would evaluate that as he goes or at the end of the season, but if Friedgen were to join the staff that could change O'Brien's plans.

If Friedgen is interested, then he would be a solid hire by Penn State. But that looks to be a stretch at this time.

Kevin McGuire is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook and add him to your Google+ circle.