Penn State's Coaching Carousel: A Look Back at the Disastrous 2011 Search

Oh, Penn State football. Remember those days right after the legendary Joe Paterno stepped down, or rather, was removed? It was a seismic shift, an earthquake that shook the very foundations of a program steeped in tradition. And in the immediate aftermath, with the dust still swirling, the university found itself in a rather unenviable position: they needed a new head coach, and fast. What unfolded next, well, let's just say it wasn't exactly a masterclass in strategic hiring.

The entire coaching search in 2011 quickly devolved into what many observers, and indeed, the fans, described as an absolute calamity. It wasn't merely difficult; it felt, to a lot of us looking in, like a public relations nightmare and a testament to how not to conduct such a high-stakes process. You had the acting athletic director, Dave Joyner, and university president, Rodney Erickson, leading the charge, or at least attempting to. But from the outside, it just looked… messy, really messy.

Think about it: the Nittany Lions, a storied program, were essentially trying to rebuild their identity under immense scrutiny. And the names started flying around, as they always do in these situations. There was buzz about Mike Mularkey, then with the Falcons, and whispers that he might be a serious contender. But, lo and behold, he reportedly turned them down. Ouch. Not exactly a great start when your primary target says "no thank you."

Then came the Greg Schiano saga. Reports swirled that he was a top candidate, perhaps even the frontrunner. Yet, almost as quickly as his name emerged, Schiano himself publicly denied any interest whatsoever in the job. Can you imagine the optics? A university trying to project stability and attract top talent, only to have a key prospect flat-out reject them in public. It was, frankly, a bit embarrassing.

And it didn't stop there. Al Golden, a former Nittany Lion himself and then coaching at Temple, was another name that cropped up. He seemed to express interest, perhaps even considerable interest, only to ultimately back away from the opportunity. It was a pattern, you see – a series of promising leads turning into dead ends. Other names like Kirk Ciarrocca, Bo Pelini, and even the interim coach Tom Bradley, were floated, but none seemed to stick or gain serious, sustained traction within the public narrative.

The whole thing just gave off an air of disorganization, almost a lack of a clear vision. Were they reaching out to too many people without proper vetting? Were they mismanaging expectations? It's hard to say definitively from the outside, but the constant stream of candidates publicly distancing themselves from the job spoke volumes. It certainly didn't inspire confidence in a fanbase already reeling from unprecedented change.

Ultimately, after what felt like an eternity of uncertainty and fumbled attempts, the university announced the hiring of Bill O'Brien, an offensive coordinator from the New England Patriots. While O'Brien went on to do a commendable job under incredibly difficult circumstances, his hiring was more a sigh of relief than a triumphant announcement, capping off a search process that, to put it mildly, had been a significant point of contention and frustration. It was a chaotic chapter, no doubt, but one that, remarkably, eventually led to some much-needed stability.