*This will be Official on Friday, Pending Approval of the ACC and NCSU Board*

No this isn’t a throwback post to 1996, but if you read the Boston College forums you would believe that Tom O’Brien is their Herb Sendek and they are happy to get rid of him. The similarities are there if you look close enough: Nice guy, consistent performances, stresses academics, low key personality, and gets to the post season.

But according to BC fans he is exactly why Wolfpack fans did not like Herb Sendek. Like Herb, according to BC Fans, Tom O’Brien fails to make adjustments at half time (Herb style), can’t win a championship but has gotten close (Herb style), beats up cupcakes to inflate schedule (Herb AND Chuck Style), doesn’t win the big games (Herb style), Frustrate you with his comments and attitude from time to time (re: Chopping Wood, Herb style), and gets to the post season. But, unlike Herb, Tom O’Brien actually wins. He as brought BC to 6 straight bowl games and Won them all which is a current NCAA Record.

So while many fans will compare NC State hiring Tom O’Brien away from Boston College where he was unwanted by a lot of fans to Arizona State hiring Herb Sendek away from NC State where he had the same type of love from the fans, I see it as a good hire. It it definitely not a “sexy” hire or a “big name” that so many people wanted but Tom O’Brien wins games and that is good enough for me.

Not only does he win consistently, (4 of the past 5 seasons with 9 wins), he does it with less. Boston and the New England area is not quite known as a hot bed of high school football talent and if you look at O’brien’s recruiting classes compared to NC State’s over the last 6 years you have to be amazed that he has won at least 8 games each year.

Recruiting Class Rankings Boston College vs NC State

2002: Boston College 55 …NC State: 38
2003: Boston College 27 …NC State: 9
2004: Boston College 42 …NC State: 20
2005: Boston College 58 …NC State: 23
2006: Boston College 44 …NC State: 42
2007: Boston College 45 …NC State: 41

While some people may raise concerns that O’Brien can not recruit, I believe a lot of it has to do with piss poor facilities and lack of area talent. Now look what he has done with those recruiting classes.

Tom O’brien’s Record at Boston College
Year……W-L….Win %
1997….. 4-7….36.4%
1998….. 4-7….36.4%
1999….. 8-4….66.7%
2000….. 7-5….58.3%
2001….. 8-4….66.7%
2002….. 9-4….69.2%
2003….. 8-5….61.5%
2004….. 9-3….75.0%
2005….. 9-3….75.0%
2006….. 9-3….75.0%

Pretty impressive if you ask me, and I believe last year he did it with a 2nd string QB. And also consider the fact that when O’Brien came in, BC was under NCAA sanctions for the big betting scandal that took place under former coach (now Panthers OC) Dan Henning.

Not only has O’Brien’s teams performed on the field, they perform in the classroom as well. BC footballers routinely rank at or near the top in Division 1-A for best graduation rate and were ranked sixth nationally in Student-Athlete GPA for 2004-05 and O’Brien won the NCAA award for having his team with a 100% graduation rating in 2005. I expect both numbers on O’Brien’s resume to take a significant drop considering the players Chuck has brought in which has been under debate whether or not they go to class.

Many people are going to argue that this is the safe hire, and I agree to extent. We could have taken a risk on Paul Johnson, Jimbo Fisher or a slew of other coaches who may or may not succeed as head coaches in a BCS conference but with Tom O’Brien you know exactly what you are getting. A quality coach who will win 7, 8 or 9 games every year and do it the right way. But you also know what you aren’t getting. I’m going out on a limb here but I’d guess O’Brien wil not insult the fans, ride harley’s into press conferences, wear red clown shoes and matching glass, nor make a mockery of NC State.

O’Brien is a coach whereas Chuck was a personality. We have facilities and now a coach who can utilize the talent they bring in. For the most part, O’Brien has shown that he can win playing in a BCS conference. He has a damn good track record of winning. Who knows what he can do with the facilities we have, the fan support that is just waiting to back a solid program, etc. Give the guy a shot, I know I will.

Other O’Brien Stuff

5 - # of QBs O’brien has put in the NFL (Tim and Matt Hassellbeck , St. Pierre, Porter, and soon to be drafted Ryan)
9 - # of Offensive Lineman O’brien has put in the NFL

Nice Read About BC and O’Brien
- Which School has the most Offensive Lineman in the NFL last Season? Yep, Boston College.

Here’s a question that probably would stump even the most dedicated college football fans. Which college has produced interior offensive linemen who had starting jobs in the NFL last season? It’s not Nebraska, Michigan or any other Midwestern program with a reputation for grind-it-out offenses.All those schools must take a back seat to Boston College when it comes to producing NFL-ready guards and centers.