Penn State Eying Ex-Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano

Greg Schiano, current head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, could be headed to to Penn State according to several reports from NFL.com.

Head Coach Bill O'Brien of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Ian Rappaport tweeted Sunday that "Penn State is preparing to lose Bill O’Brien. Their AD is ready to make a strong push for #Bucs coach Greg Schiano."

Former Scarlett Knight coach Schiano is completing his second year in Tampa Bay after enduring the wrath of fans who have called for his firing during a season doomed by an 0-8 start.

Schiano is the favorite candidate of Penn State's Director of Athletics Dave Joyner according to NFL.com's Chase Goodbread, who points out that Schiano was once considered the heir apparent to the late Joe Paterno. Schiano left the head coach position at Rutgers in January, 2012 for Tampa Bay.

Greg Schiano (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

If Schiano is named Penn State's coach he would make a trip to Rutgers in September for a Big Ten matchup at High Point Solutions Stadium.

O'Brien is one of several candidates under consideration by the Houston Texans to become the last-place team's new head coach. Gary Kubiak was fired as the team's coach. NFL.com reports that the Texans hopes to make an announcement as early as Tuesday.

O'Brien, a former member of the New England Patriots coaching staff took over the embattled Nittany Lion program following Paterno's firing in 2011 and led the team to decent seasons despite restrictions and a limited number of scholarship players as a result of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal.