I think that the opportunity for players to leave is, to a certain extent a referendum on O'Brien. The players came to play for Paterno. They now have had a Spring with O'Brien. Did they like him? Did they have confidence in them? Do they want to play for him? It's not very fair for him because he has to sell them all on staying in his first year. How many players would have left after a spring with Knorr? With Solich? As if the job of following Paterno wasn't hard enough, he gets this, too.
The job of following Paterno has become somewhat easier during the past few days. If the Freeh report had vindicated Paterno, a lot of people would've been upset at the handling of his dismissal last year, which some believe quickened his death; they say he lost the will to live after that. He would've been a martyr. But now Paterno's reputation is shattered, the statue is gone and most Penn St'ers are probably wanting to move on, in the emotional sense. (Yeah, some players are wanting to move on physically.) I think Penn St fans are more willing to back O'Brien now than they probably were six months ago.