Nick Saban endorses Penn State's hiring of Bill O'Brien

State College, PA - Penn State Football: 'Bama's Saban Believes in O'Brien, Thinks He Will Do Great Job at Penn State

Published on www.statecollege.com | shared via feedly
 

Saban believes O’Brien, who joined him at a Nike coaches clinic here Friday, will be a big hit with the Nittany Lions.

 Why? Belichick.

“[I] really respected him as a coach when he coached back in college,” Saban said. “He’s always had a great reputation. I know that when he coached with Bill Belichick, that’s what made a huge difference for me in terms of my development as a coach — not just about football but about overall organization and personnel.

“Just talking to Bill (O'Brien), it’s like same old, same old in terms of what I learned and what he’s talking about, so I’m sure he’ll do a great job there.”

Read the rest here.

Absolutely no one in college football has a tougher job than O'Brien. Taking over for a deceased legend is difficult enough. Taking over a program wracked with the ugliest scandal in the history of collegiate athletics makes it so exquisitely difficult that almost no one expects O'Brien to succeed.

Gaining the endorsement of college football's most successful current coach may raise some eyebrows, but remember this--Nick Saban never offers unkind words about coaches he has worked with, worked for or had working for him.

This doesn't mean he's being disingenuous. The qualities that led to his selection as Paterno's replacement are real and Saban is just accentuating the positives.