The Bill O'Brien Era at Penn State

Penn State coach Bill O'Brien has a discussion with his quarterback Christian Hackenberg during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. Penn State beat Syracuse, 23-17.

(Joe Hermitt, PennLive.com)

Bill O'Brien kept quarterback Christian Hackenberg in the loop throughout the entire coaching ordeal and late Tuesday night O'Brien ultimately informed his starting quarterback that he won't be around when Christian returns to Penn State in a couple weeks.

O'Brien is headed to the Houston Texans for his first head coaching job in the NFL and for Hackenberg it means using the next 12 days before the spring semester begins to carry on in hopes that Penn State moves quickly to make a new hire.

“I’m probably not going to say what the future for Christian is right now,” Erick Hackenberg told PennLive Wednesday morning. “Obviously Christian chose to go to Penn State and his reasons to go to Penn State were about more than Bill O’Brien or solely the offense they run or the school itself. It was a combination of all of those things.

“Right now we’ll sit tight, see how the school does and how quickly they move forward. As you gather the information you get the facts you need to have.”

Erick spoke with O’Brien Wednesday morning and said he and Christian have no animosity toward Bill for making the jump back to the NFL. He thanked him for having one year coaching his son. Erick said O’Brien was always truthful with them and Erick wanted to wish Bill luck and called him “a very good person.”

As for the next wave of this process and how it impacts his son, Erick is optimistic that Penn State will already have a plan in place to find a successor and to do so quickly. When asked if it’s a given that Christian returns to campus in a week and half, Erick said that while Christian is enrolled in classes they – like any player in this situation- would like to know who the head coach is before making an ultimate decision.

Penn State coach Bill O'Brien has a discussion with his quarterback Christian Hackenberg during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. Penn State beat Syracuse, 23-17.

“Right now the plan is to continue to move forward and like a lot of kids right now it’s lets see what happens,” Erick said. “We’re hopeful it happens quickly and until we have all the information we have to wait. I’m not saying he will or won’t (return) and that sounds bad, but it’s neutral. He’s still enrolled at Penn State, still loves the school but hopefully in the next 7-to-10 days, maybe 14 days we’re able to get all the facts.”

Given the timing of O'Brien's departure, making a fast hire would help ease the minds of the current players as well as the commits, especially those who are set to early enroll.

The Hackenbergs are not in panic mode and Erick said it's just another lesson for Christian to learn after going through a recruitment that presented its own set of challenges because of the unprecedented NCAA sanctions. The lesson isn't one that involves feeling betrayed by a coach -- because the family doesn't feel that way -- but rather one about the business of college football and how coaching changes can happen anywhere at any time.

“I would think the school has put things in place,” Erick said. “It’s a very attractive job because it’s a different situation than it was two years ago. Bill didn’t just right the ship he put the ship sailing in very good waters.

“It is what it is. There’s always a silver lining and people have to step back and not react emotionally and let’s let this thing work itself out.

"Hopefully the next guy coming in is going to be someone who will be a good match for what the skill sets are at Penn State.”