The news that Bill O’Brien would become Penn State’s first new football coach in herve leger

O’Brien was hired at least in part because some more high-profile and established candidates were not interested in the job. He will remain with the Patriots through the postseason. The selection of O’Brien set off a wave of criticism among former Nittany Lions players, who said that the university’s acting athletic director, David M. Joyner, had not meaningfully counseled them on his search or his ultimate decision. They were also displeased that the interim coach Tom Bradley, on the staff for 33 years and the defensive coordinator since 2000, was not given a chance to take over on a full-time basis. The former linebackers LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short led an online petition in support of Bradley.

“It would have been nice if we felt like we were part of the process,” said D. J. Dozier, a running back on the team that won the national title in the 1986 season. “This is a pretty important situation in transition for the university and the program. There are a lot of guys that feel a certain way. Today I have more questions than answers.”

Dozier and Short were among a small group that met with Joyner and other administrators on Friday at the Old Main administration building on campus. The meeting lasted about an hour and a half, and according to a person present, Joyner would not confirm whether O’Brien had been hired.

Tim Sweeney, the president of the Penn State Football Letterman’s Club, said in a phone interview that the negative comments of former players like Arrington, Short and others were not indicative of all former players. Sweeney said the club fully supports O’Brien and will welcome him into the community.

“You’re talking about 1,000 strong alpha males,” Sweeney said. “That’s how they roll. We’re going to have some people in our group who are vocal about things that have transpired and that’s their prerogative to do so. I think Coach O’Brien has a wonderful opportunity in front of him to come to a university that’s steeped in tradition.”

Jeff Nelson, Penn State’s assistant athletic director for communications, said that Joyner would not be available to comment on Friday.

An orthopedic surgeon, Joyner had no experience in college athletic administration before he took over as the acting athletic director for Tim Curley, who is facing perjury charges related to the Sandusky scandal and is on administrative leave. Joyner, who played football and wrestled at Penn State, served as the head physician for the United States teams at the 1992 Winter Olympics and also became a health care and business consultant.

It appears that Joyner did not use a search firm during the hiring process, according to agents for coaches who dealt with Penn State. Instead, Joyner and Ira M. Lubert, a member of the university’s board of trustees, seemed to lead the search by themselves. Joyner and Lubert were also involved in the hiring of the renowned wrestler Cael Sanderson as Penn State’s wrestling coach in 2009.

“Joyner is eminently unqualified for the job,” Bill Earley, a former booster for the university, said in a telephone interview. “It’s been amateurish. They acted like they were interviewing someone for the treasury of the P.T.A. at an elementary school.”

O’Brien has extensive experience as a college assistant coach, but he has never been a head coach. He spent a combined 12 seasons at Georgia Tech, Maryland and Duke before joining the Patriots in 2007.

Penn State was reported to have interviewed Brian Norwood, the associate head coach at Baylor; Tom Clements, the Green Bay Packers’ quarterbacks coach; and Greg Roman, a San Francisco 49ers assistant. Three Penn State assistants also interviewed: Bradley, Larry Johnson and Ron Vanderlinden.

A decision to hire any of the team’s current coaches would have been controversial. Paterno and other university officials came under criticism for not reporting to authorities what they knew about Sandusky’s reported sexual assault of a boy in 2002. Sandusky has been charged with molesting 10 boys over many years.

On Friday evening, Joyner met with members of the coaching staff at Penn State’s football complex. Joyner and the coaches would not comment on the meeting.

With a football coach in place, Joyner’s future appears to be among the next crucial matters that Penn State will need to address. Joyner stepped away from his position on the board of trustees to assume the role of acting athletic director. It remains unclear whether Joyner will return to his seat on the board.

Joyner’s term as a trustee was set to expire on June 30. In order to have his name included on the ballot for re-election, he will need to step down as acting athletic director and his name will need to be on a petition with 50 or more votes from alumni by Feb. 25.

There is a sense among some university officials that Joyner would embrace the opportunity to become the full-time athletic director. That decision rests largely with the university’s new president, Rodney A. Erickson, who took over after Graham B. Spanier’s ouster in November in the wake of the scandal.
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