It hasn’t even been a year since Penn State selected Bill O’Brien as Joe Paterno's permanent successor, and he has already earned a prestigious award.
 
O'Brien, who guided Penn State to an 8-4 record in his first season despite major NCAA sanctions, was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year, winning the honor over Ohio State's Urban Meyer. Meyer led Ohio State to a 12-0 record in his first season in Columbus.
 
The Nittany Lions started 0-2 yet recovered to win eight of their final 10 games to reach eight victories for the seventh time in the last eight years. O'Brien's first season ended with a dramatic 24-21 overtime victory over Wisconsin last weekend.
 
In more good news for Nittany Lion fans, on Tuesday O'Brien dismissed rumors about the possibility of his leaving Penn State for the NFL insisting during a radio interview that he will return to coach Penn State next season. O'Brien announced his intentions during an interview on an Atlanta radio station.  The interview came on the same day that O'Brien's agent announced that his client is committed to staying at Penn State.