SANTA CLARA -- Offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who joined the 49ers' coaching staff after serving two seasons under Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, is among the candidates for the Penn State head-coaching opening, as first reported by the Big Ten Network.Roman is considered a candidate, along with New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, Penn State interim coach Tom Bradley and, possibly, Boise State head coach Chris Peterson, according to reports.Roman deserves a lot of credit for a well-coach, multi-faceted West Coast offense that the 49ers installed quickly after the NFL lockout. The 49ers tied an NFL record with just 10 turnovers this season. Although the 49ers do not want to lose Roman, they are in better shape to handle a change on the offensive coaching staff than in the past.With Harbaugh being an offensive-minded coach, the system would not change. The 49ers could plug in a new coordinator with the same playbook. Under then-head coach Mike Nolan, when the 49ers lost coordinators Mike McCarthy (Green Bay) and Norv Turner (San Diego) to head-coaching jobs, the club was unable to have any continuity with the playbook.
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