O'Brien will take Penn State coaching job

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien will be the coach responsible for replacing Joe Paterno at Penn State.

O'Brien has agreed to become head coach of the Nittany Lions football team, according to a report late Thursday by ESPN, which said Penn State plans to announce the move Saturday.

O'Brien would replace legendary Paterno, who was dismissed two months ago in the wake of the child sex abuse charges levied against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno is the FBS level's winningest coach with 409 victories.

O'Brien coached at Brown before moving on to the ACC, where he spent time as an offensive assistant, then offensive coordinator/assistant head coach at Georgia Tech. He also coached at Maryland and ran the offense at Duke from 2005-2006.

His travels then took him to New England, where he has coached the wide receivers and quarterbacks before calling the plays for the Patriots this season.