Bill O’Brien hasn’t coached Penn State to one win yet, but he’s being rewarded as if he’s already led the Nittany Lions to an undefeated season.
A document obtained by the Centre Daily Times shows that an agreement between O’Brien and Penn State was reached in his initial contract in January that dealt with NCAA punishment. It reads:
“Any sanction by the NCAA of a) loss of scholarships or b) bowl eligibility due to the actions of the previous staff or lack of institutional control prior to 2012 will immediately result in an automatic extension of coach’s contract at 2016 total compensation and bonus package in years equal to the number of years of the sanctions.”
In this case, it’s a four-year extension of O’Brien’s contract now that the NCAA has levied severe penalties against the program that include a $60 million fine, postseason ban and scholarship reduction. O’Brien confirmed as much to ESPN’s “Mike and Mike” Wednesday.
O’Brien was originally signed through 2016. Given that Penn State will be operating as a glorified FCS team for the foreseeable future, the extension is only fair.