As the Super Bowl approaches, Bill O'Brien finds himself in a tough position. We've detailed his juggling act, trying to recruit and work as the Penn State head coach and the offensive coordinator for the Patriots before, but Wednesday had to be a particularly tough case. National Signing Day is one of the biggest days of the year for Nittany Lion football, but O'Brien was in Indianapolis with the Patriots. And according to Tom Fornelli of CBS, his complete focus was with the Patriots.
"I'll get a fax of our signees. I already have a pretty good idea of who they are going to be," said O'Brien. "It's really about the Patriots and making sure we're ready for today's practice, tomorrow's meeting and Sunday's game."
As Fornelli points out, Penn State knew that this is the situation they would enter into hiring O'Brien while the Patriots were still alive in the Playoffs, but it is still not ideal. Having said that if O'Brien organizes a good game plan and the Patriots win the Super Bowl, the hiring of O'Brien will look a lot better. And then he can focus full time on Penn State starting Monday.
For the latest Super Bowl updates, be sure to follow this StoryStream. Also be sure to check out Patriots blog Pats Pulpit, and as always, check out Black Shoe Diaries for more on Penn State.