Penn State shifts quarterback coach Danny O'Brien from graduate assistant back to analyst
Penn State quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien is returning to the analyst role he left nearly 13 months ago. The multi-year member of James Franklin’s staff who played for the 11th-year leader of the Nittany Lions at Maryland is now listed as an ‘Football Offensive Analyst and Analytics Coordinator’ in the Penn State directory. That title matches a job posting that was recently filled by the school. In the grand scheme of things, the change does not mean much, as O’Brien could participate in on-field instruction during practice and games as either a graduate assistant, which he became in July of 2023, or as an analyst, which he was before that and is now again after the NCAA passed a rule this summer that allows off-field staffers to function in on-field roles with no limitations except for off-campus recruiting.
“We had Danny — that’s one of the reasons why this worked out well, is we had a guy that still qualified to be a GA because the rules say you have to be within seven years of either graduating a school or playing,” Franklin said earlier this month. “We felt like he had the experience and the knowledge to serve that role. But, still fell under the GA rules where if he was an analyst, he wouldn’t be able to coach
“So it ended up working out really well but now with the rule change, it doesn’t matter. So now it comes down to Master’s degree. Do you want to get a Master’s Degree? Do you want that time during the season to take classes?”
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The answer to that last question obviously appears to be no. And, it makes sense. O’Brien will have his work cut out for him this fall. He is an integral part of the offense that is now led by first-year coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. And, his relationship with all of the passers, but especially second-year starter Drew Allar, is viewed as instrumental internally.
“There’s going to be three of us that are working quarterbacks: Myself, Coach Franklin, and [graduate assistant’ Danny O’Brien,” Kotelnicki said in December. “And I know Danny, who I’ve interacted with, has been there for the last couple of weeks, does a fantastic job.
“You have a chance for a guy who’s played professional football, the quarterback position, to interact with the quarterbacks. I think that’s a huge deal. And then Coach Franklin, being an offensive guy, to be involved, and then myself, I’ve coached quarterbacks in the past and have been able to see the whole big picture with them. So, it’ll be very NFL-like in terms of how we interact with those guys.”
Added Allar before the Peach Bowl:
“Danny played in big-time college football, obviously Power 5, and then played in the CFL for multiple years. He just brings a lot of experience and knowledge to that room. I think he just relates to everybody really well.”
It is not immediately clear if Penn State will push to fill the GA role O’Brien now vacates. The three remaining people in that room are program alums Torrence Brown (assistant defensive line) and Jordan Lucas (defensive backs) plus Kevin Ceh (offensive line). With analysts now able to coach, too, there is a question across the sport about the future of grad assistants. This is the latest indication of those longtime roles’ uncertain future.
