Should Bill O'Brien Be on BTN's All-Decade Team?

The former Penn State coach left a significant legacy in just two seasons.

Penn State had modest representation on the Big Ten Network's All-Decade Team, not surprising considering the program's tumultuous decade.

The network recognized four Lions, notably running back Saquon Barkley and receiver Allen Robinson, who were named to the first-team offense. Guard Stefen Wisniewski and linebacker Michael Mauti were named to their respective second teams.

Some definite who's who of 2010s B1G 🏈.

Thoughts?

More #BTNAllDecade ➡️ https://t.co/tJBP1RNQRm pic.twitter.com/LjEHDcQ6Tz

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) July 3, 2020

One question, though: Should BTN have found a space for former Penn State coach Bill O'Brien?

BTN named former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and former Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio as its coaches of the decade. Can't really argue with the on-field results of either call.

Meyer's teams won three Big Ten titles and the 2014 national championship. His Ohio State teams went 83-9 over seven seasons, including a 12-0 campaign during the 2012 sanction year.

Dantonio guided Michigan State to outright Big Ten championships in 2013 and '15 and a share of the title in 2011. But Dantonio's teams were 27-24 over his final four seasons, including the 3-9 campaign of 2016.

Dantonio resigned in February and was accused of NCAA violations in a since-dismissed lawsuit. A former Michigan State recruiting director filed a second lawsuit against Dantonio.

Though he spent only two seasons at Penn State, O'Brien would have been a bold choice for one of those coach-of-the-year spots. He took over a program in 2012 staggered by the Jerry Sandusky scandal and Joe Paterno's firing. O'Brien made one of his first public appearances as Penn State's coach at Paterno's funeral.

That summer, O'Brien was instrumental in holding together Penn State's football program when the NCAA announced sanctions that many football analysts thought would debilitate the program for a decade. That Penn State even fielded a 2012 football team was stunning and the subject of a documentary that called it "the greatest 8-4 season ever played."

O'Brien coached Penn State to two winning seasons before he left, turning over a program to James Franklin that was in better shape than it had any right to be. Franklin led Penn State to the Big Ten championship in his third season as head coach.

In 2017, BTN aired a segment recapping O'Brien's tenure at Penn State. It was narrated by John U. Bacon, who wrote 'Fourth and Long,' a book that, in part, detailed how the 2012 season almost didn't happen.

In 2012, Mickey Kwiatkowski, who coached O'Brien at Brown University, told me that, "in time I truly believe [Penn State fans] will say, 'Can you believe how lucky we were to get Billy O'Brien?'"

He was right. O'Brien's two-year term at Penn State certainly was among the most important football stories of the Big Ten decade. Perhaps his name should be on this list somewhere.

In the meantime, here are BTN's all-decade teams.

FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE

QB: J.T. Barrett, Ohio State

RB: Saquon Barkley, Penn State

RB: Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

WR: Allen Robinson, Penn State

WR: Tyler Johnson, Minnesota

TE: Jake Butt, Michigan

T: Taylor Lewan, Michigan

G: Wyatt Davis, Ohio State

G: Michael Deiter, Wisconsin

C: Billy Price, Ohio State

G: Dan Feeney, Indiana

T: Brandon Scherff, Iowa

K: Keith Duncan, Iowa

All-purpose: Braxton Miller, Ohio State

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE

DL: Chase Young, Ohio State

DL: Joey Bosa, Ohio State

DL: J.J. Watt, Wisconsin

DL: Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue

LB: Josey Jewell, Iowa

LB: Chris Borland, Wisconsin

LB: Devin Bush, Michigan

CB: Desmond King, Iowa

DB: Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State

S: Antoine Winfield Jr., Minnesota

S: Malik Hooker, Ohio State

P: Mike Sadler, Michigan State

All-purpose: Jabrill Peppers, Michigan

Coach: Urban Meyer, Ohio State

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE

QB: Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State

RB: Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State

RB: Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin

WR: Rondale Moore, Purdue

WR: Jared Abbrederis, Wisconsin

TE: T.J. Hockenson, Iowa

T: Gabe Garimi, Wisconsin

T: Taylor Decker, Ohio State

G: Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State

G: Kevin Zeitler, Wisconsin

C: Pat Elflein, Ohio State

All-purpose: Denard Robinson, Michigan

K: Griffin Oakes, Indiana

SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE

DL: Nick Bosa, Ohio State

DL: Shilique Calhoun, Michigan State

DL: A.J. Epenesa, Iowa

DL: Maurice Hurst, Michigan

DL: Whitney Mercilus, Illinois

LB: Ryan Shazier, Ohio State

LB: T.J. Watt, Wisconsin

LB: Mike Mauti, Penn State

CB: Jeff Okudah, Ohio State

CB: Josh Jackson, Iowa

S: Amani Hooker, Iowa

S: Vonn Bell, Ohio State

P: Cameron Johnston, Ohio State

Coach: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State

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