[NU Sports] Fitz and Penn State

[Jim Leonard]

I have to believe this is merely a rumor. Legends are usually replaced with a 
transitional coach. My guess is that Penn State will really pressure Paterno to 
retire after this season and they will ask Coach Bradley to hold the reigns 
until the last of Paterno's players have graduated. I'll be more worried about 
them poaching Fitz when that 5-year transition is up, but not this time around. 


Go Cats!
Jim



----- Original Message ----
From: Mike Nolan <nolan at romaine.tssi.com>
To: Dennis W. Brandt <tbng at comcast.net>
Cc: Northwestern Wildcats <nwu-sports at tssi.com>; Beamsley Jeff 
<Jeff.Beamsley at covisint.com>
Sent: Fri, November 19, 2010 7:01:07 AM
Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Fitz and Penn State

> Bradley surely will be considered, and I, too, thought they would stay in 
> house.  But now there are rumblings that Penn State thinks the football 
> program has stagnated and needs a jolt to lift them into Ohio State-like 
> consistency.  

I wonder who 'they' are?  The rumor a year or two ago was that Graham
Spanier wanted to 'retire' Joe Paterno, supposedly because Paterno has 
more influence at Penn State than he does.  BTW, I heard he thought the 
same thing about Tom Osborne at Nebraska before Spanier left to take the
Penn State presidency in 1995, but Osborne was in the middle of his
best (and as it turned out final) five year span, and was untouchable
at that time.  JoePa is not untouchable, probably.  

And, as that rumor goes, any suggestions that Paterno may have made 
regarding his successor would fall on ears that are worse than deaf.  
To me that suggests an outside candidate, though possibly one with
ties to Pen State as a bone to the fans.  

Personally, I'd like to see Joe stick around long enough to be the
coach on the sideline in Lincoln at least once more, but Penn State's
first visit to Nebraska isn't until 2012, and I don't know if Joe
will be able to hang in that long if Spanier wants him out.
--
Mike Nolan

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