Penn State head football coach Bill O'Brien had little time to wallow in the Patriots' heartbreaking Super Bowl loss to the Giants, with the Nittany Lions' football program calling. O'Brien still obviously has a strong relationship with the New England press, and he spoke to Ron Borges of the Boston Herald about his transition from Patriots' offensive coordinator to Penn State head coach.
O'Brien told Borges that he is looking to replicate the Patriots' offense in Happy Valley:
"It will be an interesting spring," O'Brien said with a laugh. "We're putting in a whole new offense. We'll use the foundation of what we did in New England . . . like the first five days of training camp. That'll be our offense."
In addition to offensive scheme, O'Brien is also looking to instill a Patriots' work ethic and mentality - a refrain we've heard plenty before from Bill Belichick proteges who've landed in different head coaching and front office positions around the NFL.
"I enjoy being around these kids," O’Brien said. "We’ve got a tough, smart, physical group of players. We want a team with the Patriots’ mentality — team guys who show up on time and work hard."
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