Bill O’Brien: Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator

O’Brien is the 15th head football coach in school history and will also call plays on offense. O’Brien, 42, will remain with the New England Patriots as their quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator throughout the 2011 playoffs. Before joining the pro ranks, he spent much of his career in Atlantic Coast Conference, coaching running backs at Maryland and quarterbacks at Georgia Tech and Duke, two schools where he also served as offensive coordinator.

Mac McWhorter: Offensive Line Coach

Texas offensive line coach from 2000-10, when he retired. McWhorter, 61, coached the offensive line during the Longhorns title run in 2005 under Mack Brown. In 2008, McWhorter was named the top assistant coach in the nation. He has also coached at Alabama, Georgia, Duke, Clemson and Memphis since his career began in 1974.

Stan Hixon: Wide Receivers Coach

Wide receivers coach for the Washington Redskins from 2004-10 before spending two years with the Buffalo Bills. Hixon, 54, coached at LSU from 2000-03, winning a national title with the Tigers in his final year. Hixon has also coached at Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.

Charles London: Running Backs Coach

Quality control coach of the Tennessee Titans for the past year and Chicago Bears from 2007-10. London, 37, played at Duke as a running back and was a graduate assistant for two years starting in 2004.

Larry Johnson: Defensive Line Coach

He has been at Penn State since 1996. Considered one of the top defensive line coaches and recruiters on the east coast, Johnson has developed a laundry list of great linemen throughout the years, including Devon Still, Jared Odrick, Aaron Maybin, Tamba Hali, Jimmy Kennedy, Michael Haynes and Courtney Brown.

Ron Vanderlinden: Linebackers Coach

He has been at Penn State since 2001. Vanderlinden has helped carry on the tradition of "Linebacker U," recently developing NFL players Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor, NaVorro Bowman and Sean Lee. Vanderlinden was head coach at Maryland from 1997-2000 as well as defensive coordinator at Northwestern from 1992-96, when he helped develop Pat Fitzgerald into a two-time Bednarik Award winner.

John Strollo: Tight Ends Coach

Duke's offensive line coach while O'Brien was its offensive coordinator. His only season at Ball State was his 31st as a football coach, previously holding positions at Elon, Cornell, Maine, Lafayette, Massachusetts and Northeastern, among others.

Ted Roof: Defensive Coordinator

Defensive coordinator for Auburn from 2009 until 2011. Roof won a national title with Auburn during that time frame. Roof also coached from 2002 until 2007 as head coach before a brief stint at Louisville and Minnesota.

John Butler: Secondary Coach

A graduate of LaSalle College High School outside Philadelphia, Butler served as South Carolina's special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach in 2011. Before joining South Carolina, Butler had spent four years coaching linebackers and special teams at the University of Minnesota.

Jim Bernhardt: Special Assistant to the Head Coach and Director of Player Development

Bernhardt coached O’Brien at Brown from 1990-92 before becoming the Bears offensive coordinator in 1993. He then spent 10 years as a high school head coach in central Florida before becoming director of football operations for the University of Central Florida in 2004.

Craig Fitzgerald: Strength and Conditioning Coach

A Philadelphia native, Fitzgerald spent the past three seasons at South Carolina. Fitzgerald worked with O’Brien at Maryland in 2003-04. Fitzgerald also oversaw strength and conditioning at Harvard from 2005-09, working with Butler in 2005-06.

Charlie Fisher: Quarterbacks Coach

Fisher is coming home. A native of Allenwood, Pa., about 50 minutes east of State College, Fisher was the final coaching hire by O'Brien and assumed his role as quarterbacks coach Feb. 18. Prior to coming to Penn State, Fisher spent last season at Miami (Ohio) and the previous nine years at Vanderbilt, where he helped develop Jay Cutler. Fisher, entering his 31st year of coaching at age 52, also held jobs at N.C. State and Temple.