Speculation and rumors started flying last week that the Penn State coaching search was targeting Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien for an interview. All week, reports and rumors have gone back in forth from "imminent hire" to "no communication" between the two parties. On Sunday, reports in Boston indicated that he had not yet been contacted by Penn State. But yesterday, multiple reports said that O'Brien was indeed going to interview for the head coaching position in State College. Erick Smith of USA Today reported that the interview would take place on Thursday.
On Thursday night, ESPN's Chris Mortensen went a step further and tweeted that PSU was preparing to announce O'Brien as the next head coach this Saturday.
Filed to ESPN: Penn State plans to make official announcement Saturday that Patriots OC Bill OBrien is new head coach
O'Brien has been with the Patriots since 2007, but served as an assistant at Brown, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Duke in the college ranks. Like former coach Joe Paterno, he is a graduate of Brown.
For all the latest news on Bill O'Brien and the Penn State coaching search, stay tuned to SB Nation Pittsburgh.