New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien has agreed to replace embattled veteran football legend Joe Paterno as the head coach at Penn State University.

The Penn State Nittany Lions plan to make the replacement official with an announcement on Saturday, sources have told ESPN's Chris Mortensen. O'Brien interviewed with the team on Thursday, according to his agent Joe Linta. Terms of his deal with Penn State are still unknown.

O'Brien will reportedly continue to serve as the Patriots' offensive coordinator for the remainder of this season.

After spending 14 seasons on the collegiate level, including coaching stints at Duke, Maryland and Georgia Tech, O'Brien joined New England in 2007. He spent 2008 coaching receivers, and has worked with Patriots' star quarterback Tom Brady since 2009.

Paterno, Division I's winningest coach in history, was ousted as head coach of Penn State's Nittany Lions amid an onslaught of child sex abuse allegations leveled at his retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. By the time he was fired on November 9 Paterno, affectionately nicknamed "Joe Pa" by fans, had a total of 409 victories.