Penn State Football Coaches Hit the Road to Meet Supporters Penn State Coach Bill O'Brien spent last week recruiting in cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and Richmond, Va., traveling by bus to introduce himself to the large constituency he is now trying to win over: Nittany Lions football fans. O'Brien is headlining a group of Penn State coaches from various sports that is traveling in a caravan to meet with alumni and fans at 18 stops along the East Coast and in the Midwest. The nine-day bus tour is the latest step in O'Brien's delicate replacement of Joe Paterno, who was fired in November in the wake of a child sexual abuse scandal. "My main message is that this is a great university and a fantastic athletic department," said O'Brien, who is coming to Manhattan on Wednesday night. This football program, albeit a big piece, is just a piece of a great athletic department and a great university. O'Brien has had to deliver that message to a part of a base of supporters that has felt disenfranchised after the scandal involving the former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with more than 50 counts of child sexual abuse. The scandal led to the firing of Paterno, who was never charged before he died in January. There has been very public friction between Penn State and the Paterno family since the coach's death. Some Penn State alumni are still upset, too, recently voting three new members to the board of trustees. All three new trustees had been critical of the board and its handling of Paterno's dismissal. With Sandusky's trial set for June - a recent filing by his lawyer indicated that more accusers had surfaced - the caravan seems to be the latest in Penn State's multimillion-dollar effort to rehabilitate its image. O'Brien said the idea for the caravan was a collaborative effort. Other coaches said that the athletic communications staff prompted them to join. Penn State's effort to try to alter the narrative, and to open a dialogue with its fans and alumni, has been evident since November. Its president, Rodney A. Erickson, hosted town hall meetings in January. The caravan events may also act as fund-raisers to help compensate for the loss of Paterno, who was a productive fund-raiser for the university. Penn State football lettermen initially did not support the hiring of O'Brien, who had no ties to the program. But O'Brien said he had felt welcomed at the caravan stops, where the conversation has turned to topics like whether he supported a college football playoff and who might emerge as the Nittany Lions" starting quarterback. "We haven't played a game yet, so everything we're received has been very supportive," said O'Brien, the former offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. People really want to see us do well. I haven't had any negative comments to my face. Not one. Traveling by bus in the caravan has given O'Brien the opportunity to spend quality time with Penn State coaches like Pat Chambers of the men's basketball team, Russ Rose of the women's volleyball team and Char Morett of the field hockey team. O'Brien compared the long trips - the caravan was scheduled to stop in locations like Buffalo, Cleveland, Hartford and Hazleton, Pa. - to what it would be like playing minor league baseball. But he said they had enabled him to pick the brains of the other Penn State coaches, learning more about the university and what it was like to work there. "He's not sitting in an ivory tower and coming in," said Coquese Washington, the women's basketball coach. "He's coming in and saying: "You guys know Penn State. Help me get through the learning curve quickly. When you come into a new university, that's half the battle, learning the ropes, how things are done, before you start. But O'Brien has the daunting task of following an icon in Paterno, who had more wins than any other coach in major college football. While Penn State will not be changing its staid blue-and-white uniforms, O'Brien has added some of his own touches, perhaps most notably revamping the weight room and the strength-and-conditioning program. O'Brien said there were four cornerstones of the way he would run the program: academics, football, integrity and respect. He also noted that he would continue to try to recruit players who could succeed in the classroom as well as on the football field. First, however, O'Brien has set out to gain traction among the Penn State's own fans.