The Front Row

Per ESPN, here's a list of "possible coaching replacements". The article has some names that make you laugh because there is no way Penn State gets them. I really hope we as Buckeye fans weren't this naive and blinded by our scarlet and grey glasses when the Tressel stuff went down. Were we? I think all the coaching names we threw out there were legit and gave reasonable explanations as to why. Why would John Gruden ever go to Penn St.?

Names to watch
Greg Schiano
Urban Meyer
Al Golden
Kirk Ferentz
Gus Malzahn
Kirby Smart
Jim Caldwell
Mike Munchak
Paul Pasqualoni
Gary Patterson
Chris Peterson
Pat Fitzgerald
Jim Grobe
Dan Mullen
Bill Cowher
Jon Gruden

With the news that Joe Paterno is retiring, there are going to be a lot of conflicted emotions around Penn State. The program is obviously facing significant issues both from a legal standpoint, from an emotional one, and also as it deals with a lack of current leadership given the recent upheaval.

With that said, we're tasked with the job of considering where the program will go next, and that discussion obviously begins with who will be the next person to lead the program. Multiple names will surface throughout the potentially long and exhausting search for the perfect hire, and we've heard from a number of sources today on some of the names that might come into focus.

Those which will obviously be brought up and continue as fan favorites include former Florida head coach and current ESPN analyst Urban Meyer, Miami head coach Al Golden and Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano.

Meyer's name is often mentioned, discussed by pundits and blogs (one example) as a possibility prior to the recent events on campus. Meanwhile, Golden's name has already been considered in conjunction with Penn State's program.

Jack McCaffery of the Delaware County Daily Times offered, "Just thinking out loud, though: Money sometimes works. So flash some. Offer Urban Meyer twice his expected demanded fee. Recruit Bill Cowher. Call Jon Gruden." Gruden, of course, is also a current ESPN analyst, though one not unaccustomed to hearing his name linked to prominent jobs.

Another NFL name to remember is Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell. The Colts are a disaster at the moment, and its conceivable Caldwell will not be retained. Caldwell spent seven years as an assistant coach to Paterno.

Others with previous ties to the program include Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak and Connecticut head coach Paul Pasqualoni. That said, it's hard to know at this point if ties to the program will be considered a positive. The school may wish to go in another direction entirely.

Coaches by the Numbers also suggests TCU head coach Gary Patterson, Boise State head coach Chris Peterson, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald, Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe and Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen.

ESPN.com's Joe Schad has told us that Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz is a name that could be considered as well.

Inevitably, names such as former Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez, Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart and former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach will enter the conversation as the hottest names around the country, but given the situation, we've heard that a name with proven experience leading a program could be key.

While there will obviously be a lot of scrutiny on the program in the months and years going forward, from a pure destination standpoint, this is still a significant job. Penn State is among the top five programs nationally in total revenue. Quite simply, the program is a monster from a financial standpoint, and the search can go in a lot of different directions.

- Brent Sobleski

Sex Abuse Scandal tears down all that Paterno Built
By Linda Robertson, McClatchy Newspapers November 9, 2011

MIAMI - Victim 1 testified that he was assaulted by Jerry Sandusky during a disturbing sex ritual in the basement bedroom of Sandusky's home. Sandusky would lie underneath the 12-year-old boy. Then, he would rub the boy's backside and blow on his stomach.

"Victim 1 was uncomfortable with the contact and would sometimes try to hide in the basement," the grand jury report says. "Victim 1 testified that Sandusky performed oral sex on him more than 20 times through 2007 and early 2008."

Victim 2, estimated to be age 10, was subjected to anal sex with his hands up against a shower wall.

Victim 4 used to cower in closets when Sandusky showed up at his house.

Eight boys, during the course of 15 years, were allegedly abused by a football coach.

But Sandusky was no run-of-the-mill coach. For three decades, he was the right-hand man of Joe Paterno at Penn State, where football was not just a game but a morality play.

Now Paterno, revered not only for his record 409 victories but for his steadfast standards of high character, will have his legacy tainted by a sordid scandal. Paterno, 84, who had no plans to retire, might be forced into an ungraceful exit as early as this week.

Paterno is to Penn State what George Washington is to the $1 bill. Wearing tie, black shoes and thick glasses and speaking in his Brooklyn accent, the Ivy League English literature major is esteemed as a life coach who expects his players to wear throwback uniforms, graduate and become productive citizens.

But the arrest of Sandusky and charges of perjury against two university administrators have torn apart Happy Valley.

What did Paterno know and did he do enough to stop Sandusky? Paterno fulfilled his legal obligation by reporting an incident to his superiors in 2002. But did he fulfill his moral obligation? Did he, as the creator, commander and curator of Penn State's most valuable asset, seize control of a problematic and potentially horrific situation and refuse to let go until it was resolved? Did he have the courage to put the safety of powerless strangers above the reputation of a lifelong friend?

Count the years that have passed and the answer appears to be no.

Count the number of documented victims - probably a small percentage of the number of actual victims - and the answer appears to be no.

There were multiple incidents, including documented ones in 1998, 2000 and 2002. Sandusky brought boys to Penn State games, practices, meals. Yet no one at the university took decisive action. The Sandusky scandal has scary similarities to the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal.

Sandusky, 67, selected victims from his own trap, a charitable foundation called The Second Mile, which he started to "help children who need additional support and would benefit from positive human interaction."

According to the grand jury, he used his position of authority and glamour as a coach. He bribed vulnerable boys with game tickets, tailgate parties, Nike shoes, golf clubs, ice hockey gear, computers, restaurant meals, cash. He even guaranteed one boy he would be a walk-on player at Penn State.

He molested them in his house, in the hotel where the Nittany Lions stayed on Friday nights, at a bowl game, in a sauna, in a high school wrestling room.

But his favourite place was in the Penn State football team's locker room showers. Seven of the eight victims were abused in the shower.

He would take a boy to the campus gym. Then they would have to take a shower. Victim 5, after being cornered, was able to slide by Sandusky and get out. He was not invited to any more football games.

Sandusky maintains his innocence. But the testimony paints him as a sick man.

After he was confronted by the mother of Victim 6, he told her, "I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won't get it from you. I wish I were dead."

Police were not contacted after the 2002 incident in which a graduate assistant coach said he walked in on Sandusky performing anal sex on a boy in the shower. Nor did anyone try to find the boy.

"I don't think I've ever been associated with a case with that type of eyewitness identification of sex acts taking place where the police weren't called," Pennsylvania state police commissioner Frank Noonan said.

What at the least was a lack of will and the worst was a cover-up means Paterno goes out in shame.

University of Miami coach Al Golden, a Paterno protégé might be in line to succeed Paterno but might not want the heavy burden of healer.

"It's heartbreaking," Golden said. "After all he's done for football. They're in our prayers. I feel badly for the victims and for the people who have given so much to that university."

For all his good works, Paterno deserves sympathy. But Victim 8 deserves more. He was assaulted one night in the shower. A janitor saw it and was so shaken he told a co-worker it was worse than what he had seen in the Korean War. But, fearful that he would lose his job, he didn't report it.

He "presently suffers from dementia, resides in a nursing home and is incompetent to testify," the report said. "Victim 8's identity is unknown."

http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/abuse+scandal+tears+down+Paterno+built/5680301/story.html

I guess i can add my "Looking for 2 tickets to the game" Please PM me.

Report: Penn State president will be gone by end of day

Dave Miller, The National Football Post 1 hour, 28 minutes ago

With news that longtime head football coach Joe Paterno plans to retire at the end of this season, Penn State president Graham Spanier will either resign or be voted out by the board of trustees by the end of the day, according to The Express-Times.

The school's executive vice president and provost Rodney A. Erickson is likely to serve as interim president while a nationwide search for a permanent replacement gets underway.

In 2002, Spanier was made aware that then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary saw former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky allegedly sexually assault a young boy in a shower in the team's football locker room. According to grand jury testimony, Spanier did not contact police when finding out about the assault. While he has not been charged as of this time, many around the campus and across the nation have called for Spanier's resignation.

Meanwhile, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz face charges related to a cover-up in the sex scandal. Spanier has shown his support in recent days for both of the administrators.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=nfp-20111109_report_penn_state_president_will_be_gone_by_end_of_day

I wonder if JoPa would of handled this same way if it were one of his grandkids. mk thanks