Earth to Penn State… hello??
I’m going to try to do all of you Blue and White folks a favor, so go right ahead and sit back for a moment and think about what I’m saying here. First off, I must pose the following question: Why, sweet Jesus, why are you not angry right now? How is it that you are in any way content with the fact that your coach is bound and determined to stay right where he is, and cost the program that he means so much to in the process? Why is it so difficult for people who are in the position to remedy the situation to recognize what needs to happen here? Honor the man, tell him thanks for everything, and move on with it. Have the fans not yet reached the point where they are ready to let go of the past and recognize the present for what it is?
I know it’s a difficult thing to do; I wasn’t one of those torch carrying morons who wanted Lloyd Carr run out of town at the drop of a hat. I genuinely respected and appreciated the man and really grew up with him as the leader of my Maize and Blue, it was not easy to recognize that perhaps it was time for him to call it a career. But you know what? It was, I came to that realization, and even more importantly, Lloyd Carr came to that realization. Michigan will forever remember Carr for his 30 years at the school, and the program will benefit from his ability to walk away when the time was right. Can Penn State fans possibly think they’re going to be in great shape at this point in time?
Here’s my theory, go ahead and try it on for size… Recall that Joe Paterno was doing a spectacular job of running himself out of Happy Valley just four short years ago. Here’s betting you didn’t find too many sentimental types when his name was brought up near the end of 2004. Why’s that you might ask? Well, here’s why:
2000: 5-7
2001: 5-6
2002: 9-4
2003: 3-9
2004: 4-7
And then… “It” happened. “It” is known as 2005. A glorious year for Penn State fans to look back on and remember, 11-1… literally seconds away from a shot at a national title… after posting losing records for four of the last five seasons, Penn State came out of literally black-hole-nowhere with this team.
Oh so close!!!
So here’s the question that is perhaps one of the hardest to ask as Penn State loyalist: Just exactly how much did Joe Pa have to do with 2005? How much of a role did he have in that team, and how much of a role did the superb play of Michael Robinson and a solid defense have to do with it?
Since then, the Lions haven’t been able to capture the same magic, posting “meh” years of 9-4 in ’06 and ’07. Perhaps more poignantly here, even taking 2005 into account, take a look at the following:
Penn State is a .500 ballclub in conference play over the past 8 years… that’s 32-32 from 2000 to 2007.
It’s idiocy to say that a successful team is to blame for anything, but do you think if 2005 is a 7-5 year that Penn State fans are sitting here watching this entire fiasco unfold? The sad part is that 2005 bought Paterno time he literally did not deserve. Let’s call a spade a spade here shall we? His role in that football program is as a figure-head, no two ways about it. That’s not to say he doesn’t mean a lot, that’s not to say that he doesn’t embody the tradition of Penn State football, but you are out of your mind if you think that man has had any sort of control over the goings on from an X’s and O’s, game-planning, and really even an ACTIVE recruiting role.
The point here is this, save for one magical run in 2005, over the past 8 or 9 years Penn State has been anywhere from a god-awful football team to a decidedly mediocre football team. It would seem to be pretty clear to those removed from the immediacy (read: kool-aid) of the program (i.e. me) that a few changes in philosophy would do the Nittany Lions some good from a football standpoint. Yet, here is your coach, whose overall role in the day to day operations of the program is certainly somewhat questionable, hanging on and claiming that he doesn’t need a contract to keep coaching. His determination to remain in a position in which he has not truly been effective in for years is praised and encouraged by some, but it needs to be recognized for what it truly is: damaging to the program. His actions are setting up a very difficult and arduous path for PSU in the near future, this situation will only intensify, and if you don’t think this will have a larger and larger impact on recruiting as it goes on, you’re out of your mind.
It’s sad to see someone as universally respected and liked as Paterno do this to himself and the school, he’s put everyone in a terrible position, and he certainly has laid the groundwork for some truly ugly moments over the horizon, whether it be in trying to remove him from the head coaching position, or be it in a new coaching search, or whether it be in serving as a big reason for recruits to look elsewhere. The man is unquestionably the heart and soul of Penn State football and the school, but it is that label that should weigh heavily on him to recognize what the RIGHT thing to do is, and that is to give the program every possible opportunity and advantage to thrive after he has moved on. Right now, his actions and the inactions of the folks in power in Happy Valley certainly do not convey that message.
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