With Joe on the go soon, who’s next great at Penn State?
Yo, Joe, this about clinches it, right?
Right?
Good God, man. What’s it going to take? Forget stepping down or being fired. Let’s take this one misstep at a time. We now know that the next Penn State coach will not come from the current staff. That has to be the result after the four-letter, in a fine report Sunday, detailed the staggering number of legal problems involving Nittany Lions players in recent years.
Forty-six players, 163 criminal charges, since 2002.
Coach Joe Paterno called the well-researched report a “witch hunt.” Twice. He was a little off. Wrong gender, wrong profession and the reporting wasn’t exactly as taxing as a hunt. More like shooting fish in a barrel.
In case you’ve been stranded on Mt. Nittany lately, JoePa’s program passed out-of-control a long time ago. Shortly after the report aired, two players were kicked off the team. How’s that for being proactive? The hiring of an outside coach is not official, mind you. Paterno is still running around telling recruits that the next coach will come from inside staff. Supposedly, he wasn’t bold enough to say the hire will come from inside the family (heeeeere’s Jay!).
There are some fine coaches on Joe’s staff. You feel for a guy like defensive coordinator Tom Bradley who, under normal circumstances, would figure to get the job. But the perception has to be that the staff is part of the problem when it comes to finding a solution to the off-field madness. Call it guilt by loyalty.
sportsline.com
8/1/08
Magnolia Tribune
