The Bill O’Brien to the NFL rumors went from tepid murmurs to muffled yelps today, as ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports that the coach is actively trying to reduce his buyout if and when NFL teams come calling.

Bill O’Brien’s amended contract shows he reduced the price of an NFL buyout from $19.33 million last year to $6.48 million for this year.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 22, 2013

One Penn State official said Bill O’Brien’s rep recently approached the school about potential reducing his NFL buyout even further.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 22, 2013

CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora previously reported that O’Brien was interested in a return to the NFL and has drawn interest from two teams already.

The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is also reporting that one team has reached out to O’Brien directly and, to a larger degree than last year, he’s being viewed a serious candidate to make the jump.

Will talk about Penn St coach Bill O’Brien later. 1 NFL team has reached out to him so far. Execs view him as a legit candidate this year

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 22, 2013

The bad news for Penn State fans is that these guys do not get things wrong. Schefter, La Canfora, and Rapoport are some of the best-sourced and well-respected journalists in the business, and to hint at the same conclusion collectively is not a good sign. In just two seasons at Penn State, O’Brien has managed to cut his buyout in third and has interviewed with multiple NFL teams.

It’s not time to start tearing down streetlights on College Ave. yet. He has so many reasons to stay, and I don’t need to outline them all for you all here. But it appears that these NFL rumors have some legs, at least in this premature stage.