Coaching Buzz: O’Brien ‘Strongly Considering’ Interviewing

The Bill O’Brien buzz is not going away.

The latest from SI.com’s Peter King:

Happy Valley alert: I hear Bill O’Brien is strongly considering interviewing with an NFL team.

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) January 1, 2013

You can find everything we’ve written about O’Brien right here. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported on Sunday that the Penn State head coach is on the short list of both the Eagles and the Browns.

There are some important questions with O’Brien. Would he leave Happy Valley after one year? And what are the exact terms of his buyout? Mortensen reported that O’Brien believed initially that the Jerry Sandusky fallout would be a criminal matter not subject to NCAA sanctions.

David Jones of the Harrisburg Patriot-News reports that the buyout is even more than initially believed. He throws out the possibility that O’Brien is simply trying to gain leverage to re-negotiate his current deal.

O’Brien would seem to fit the qualities Jeffrey Lurie is looking for in a head coach. A forward-thinking leader willing to take risks, as the owner described yesterday.

Then again, how would leaving Penn State after one year reflect on O’Brien as a leader? That’s something owners and GMs will have to assess.

KELLY WON’T TALK NFL

Oregon’s Chip Kelly is Joe Banner’s top choice in Cleveland, two high-ranking personnel executives tell Adam Caplan. But Kelly is getting ready for Thursday’s Fiesta Bowl and won’t talk NFL.

“I’ve got a game to play,” he said, per the Associated Press. “We’re playing in the Fiesta Bowl. That’s the biggest thing in my life. If I allowed other things to get into my life, then they would be distractions, but there aren’t. Our focus 100 percent is on the Fiesta Bowl. My heart is to win today and that’s it. I know everybody wants to hear a different answer. And I know that at times when I don’t give you guys the answer that you guys want, then I’m being evasive. I’m not being evasive.”

MCCOY GETS A LOOK IN BUFFALO

Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy is a hot name. The Buffalo Bills have asked for permission to interview him, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

As you can see in our special coach tracker post, the Bears and Cardinals are also expected to interview McCoy.

For all the latest coaching buzz, click right here.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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