Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is reportedly a leading candidate to be the head coach at Penn State.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that O'Brien emerged as the leading candidate on Sunday morning. A source with knowledge of the Penn State coaching search told Jonny Saraceno of USA Today that "only contract details need to be finalized before O'Brien is the man."

O'Brien was named the Patriots' offensive coordinator following the 2010 season. He spent the '09 and '10 seasons as the team's QB coach and was the WR coach in 2008. O'Brien was calling plays for two seasons before officially being named offensive coordinator.

O'Brien was the center of attention following a heated sideline exchange with QB Tom Brady after Brady threw a pick in Week 14 against the Redskins.

The Patriots have a first-round bye in the NFL playoffs.