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oing Things The Right Way. Success With Honor. Make An Impact. These idioms will permeate the culture of Penn State athletics for years to come, and rightfully so. However, new Penn State head coach Bill O Brien has a motto of his own for the program. One team. After six bitter, divisive months in the Penn State community, those two simple words seem exactly whats needed to get both the school and football program back on the right track. And the coach who takes a self-described common sense approach seems like just the man to put the program back on the right track, too.

The first thing one notices when speaking face-to-face with Bill OBrien is his blue, soul-slicing eyes. They could belong to a Lion, the kind of eyes that would float in a dark room. He makes perpetual eye contact and speaks simply, all the time. And if there was anything the Nittany Lions needed after the legalese spouted by the schools Board of Trustees, it was a straight-shooter. OBrien is that and much more. Immediately upon entering his office, he cracks a couple jokes and sets everyone at ease, like an uncle that comes around twice a year or so would do. Maybe this is what acting AD Dave Joyner noticed during the hiring process, OBriens ability to be serious when needed but also flip switches back to humorous and engaging two seconds later. Maybe this is whats needed to win back a divided fan base, one that is used to forty-six years of a screaming, funny Italian but also one that has wondered what change at the top would be like. I have tremendous amount of respect for what Coach Paterno did here, OBrien said quietly, Forty-six years as the head football coach, 409 wins, that'll never be matched. No one will ever do that. That goes down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, coaching jobs that's ever been done. OBrien recognizes that he has a difficult job to do -- one that involves satisfying older fans with frequent nods to the past, but also to put OBriens unique signature on the football program. Not everything will change, though. The uniforms will remain blue, white and plain, and the goals for the players remain the same. I have two goals for Penn State: to win, and to make sure our players experience a full college life and leave here as well rounded individuals, more well-rounded than they were when they entered Penn State, O'Brien says, putting his hand on his chin.

ong-time followers of the Penn State football program will note that these are the same goals that Paterno had for his players. Paterno frowned upon all-athletic dorms common in many campuses. He emphasized engagement with other students that werent athletes, to expand ones mind, to learn about art, history, literature, politics, or whatever it was that interested that particular player. Like Paterno, OBrien realizes that there is life for many of his players beyond professional football. This is important. In an era of oversigning and see ya laters to a star athlete that isnt performing up to par, OBrien seems genuinely interested in his players life outside of football. What do they do in their free time? What are their academics like? OBrien credits this aspect of his coaching philosophy to his personal heroes, his parents. I would say that my parents are heroes to me. They raised us well, and taught us about the value of the combination of education and sports, along with a love of reading and writing, OBrien said. That love of reading and writing has OBrien reading multiple books at a time, some about politics, some about World War II, and some about legends from other Big Ten schools. When asked about his favorite book, he seems almost overwhelmed at the possibilities.

Oh god.. One book? OBrien said, in exasperation. I'm kind of strange. I read a lot of books at a time. I have a million favorite books. I'm reading Unbroken right now. Its a great book. I'm reading a book by John Bacon about Bo Schemblecher and leadership. I like books about politics, too. I don't know if I can name just one. His love of books and reading is one he shares with his predecessor, Paterno. Paterno loved the classics, good poetry and good whiskey. OBrien really isnt all that different, and when talking about where his team will be a year or two from now, he supplies a familiar answer. Yeah, I don't really get into long-term plans, OBrien states matter-of-factly, I concentrate on playing 12 one-game seasons, so really, our goal is to go out and beat Ohio. Most long-term followers can already hear the very similar Paterno response to the question in their heads. Im just worried about Ohio! You get the sense, however, that both really mean it and both realize that this approach is whats needed for long-term, forty-six year success. That's what we're focusing on this summer and in training camp. I don't really spend too much time thinking about championships and bowl games, and where we are in two years, OBrien stated, emphasizing the last couple words, I think about beating one team at a time, and hopefully, if we have that attitude, we'll end up where we wanna be at the end of the year. This philosophy is fairly similar to Paternos, who emphasized taking care of the little things first -things like how to carry a football and where to put your feet on a block -- and the big things, like championships, bowl games and awards would come in due course. Its not entirely fair to compare the two constantly, although this will doubtlessly happen through much of OBriens tenure. The truth is, however, that OBrien compares favorably to his predecessor in many ways. They are both graduates of the same Ivy League school, and both share similar values about education and sports. When I was contacted, I knew that this was a place where I felt like I'd be a good fit because I believed in the same value of education and good football, OBrien reflected, and I knew that this was a place that believed in the same things that I believed in. When I was contacted, I knew that I wanted the job. But there will be things done that Penn State fans are not used to -- he may not wear a suit on the sidelines, he may not fund a new wing of the library, and he may never have a bronzed image of himself outside of the stadium. He may get involved in other causes around the University; he may not. But I can guarantee one thing -- he will be Bill OBrien, and that seems more than good enough.