NEW YORK — Bill O’Brien grew up around Boston, roots for the Red Sox and coached for the Patriots.

“I’ve been with the villains,” he said

He’s the Penn State coach now, and when you coach the Nittany Lions you have to embrace New York. The Big Apple’s metro area is home to about 28,000 Penn State alumni. Only Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have more.

O’Brien stopped in Manhattan on Wednesday as part of the school’s attempt to re-connect an athletic program that was thrown into disarray last year.