After a few days of speculation, Penn State coach Bill O’Brien has reached an agreement to become the head coach of the Houston Texans according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen.
The news will reportedly be announced on Thursday and O’Brien will be introduced in Houston by Saturday.
Filed to ESPN from me and @mortreport: Bill O'Brien has reached agreement to become the new head coach of the Houston Texans, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 1, 2014
Texans reached an agreement with Bill O'Brien tonight. Will b announced Thursday. — John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) January 1, 2014
Texans are expected to introduce Bill O'Brien as their new head coach by Saturday, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 1, 2014
In just two years in Happy Valley, O’Brien led the Nittany Lions to a 15-9 record, but more importantly galvanized a football team that was hit with some of the worst sanctions in NCAA history in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
When it was thought that the Penn State program would take a significant hit, O’Brien led the shorthanded Nittany Lions to back-to-back winning seasons. The Lions rallied behind O’Brien with an 8-4 record in 2012 after starting the year 0-2 and followed that with a 7-5 campaign in 2013.
He previously coached as an assistant for the New England Patriots after collegiate stops as an assistant at Brown, Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Duke.
O’Brien takes over a Houston team filled with offensive talent in running back Arian Foster and wide receiver Andre Johnson and the top selection in the 2014 NFL draft.

Penn State has reportedly already been gearing up for a coaching search. David Jones of the Harrisburg Patriot News reported on Monday that Vanderbilt’s James Franklin is Penn State’s top target. Other potential candidates that have been mentioned in various media reports include former Rutgers and Tampa Bay Bucs coach Greg Schiano and Titans coach Mike Munchak.
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