Penn State Head Coach James Franklin Speaks Highly of Boston College’s Bill O’Brien

The Nittany Lions head coach said he was “happy” for O’Brien and his early success with the Eagles on Monday.

Sep 14, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Boston College Eagles head coach Bill O'Brien watches the replay board against the Missouri Tigers during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Penn Sate head football coach James Franklin spoke to the media on Monday afternoon ahead of the Nittany Lions Week 4 game against Kent State. 

During the press conference, he was asked about Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien, who served as the Nittany Lions coach prior to Franklin’s arrival, and shared his thoughts on O’Brien’s early success with the Eagles. 

“As you guys know, I’ve known Bill for a long time,” said Franklin. “I’ve known Fitz [Craig Fitzgerald], his strength coach, for a long time. We were all at the University of Maryland together. Me and Bill lived in the same neighborhood. His wife and my wife were good friends. Obviously, I’ve followed his career in the NFL and now back at BC, for a short period of time he was also in our conference at Ohio State, and now back at BC which for a lot of those guys from that part of the country, BC’s like a dream job.”

The 52-year-old also said that he wasn’t shocked to see the Eagles doing well under O’Brien and was “happy” for them.

“It’s interesting, I’ve talked to a ton of guys like that BC job is a very desirable job and if you know Billy’s background, it makes a ton of sense,” said Franklin. “So when that hire happened, when that whole thing went down, I thought it was a win-win for both BC and Billy. He’s got a really mobile, dynamic quarterback that had really done some nice things last year and when you got that piece of the puzzle, you can build from there and Billy’s got tremendous experience doing that. So, it’s been cool to watch it. I’m happy for those guys and not surprised.” 

O’Brien and Franklin worked alongside each other with the Terps from 2003-04. O’Brien served as the runnings backs coach while Franklin was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. 

In his first stint as a head coach, O’Brien notched a 15-9 overall record with the Nittany Lions which included a 10-6 Big Ten record in two seasons (2012-13). During that time frame, he won Big Ten Coach of the Year, the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award, and the George Munger Award.