Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in college football history, will not survive the Penn State scandal that has followed the investigation of former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky for charges sex-abuse. Paterno is out as Nittany Lions head coach after leading Penn State to a 409–136–3 career record and national prominence.
Joe Paterno Retiring: A Look Back At His Record And Coaching Career
Scandal has forced iconic head coach Joe Paterno out at Penn State. The Jerry Sandusky investigation resulted in the end of an era in State College.
Affectionately known as “JoePa”, Paterno has been synonymous Penn State football and the college game since he took over the program in 1966. His thick glasses and black shoes made him an icon as he presided over the rise of Penn State.
In his extensive career, Paterno led the Nittany Lions to two National Championships (1982, 1986) and three Big 10 titles. In Paterno’s tenure as head coach, the Nittany Lions are 24–12–1 in bowl games.
In 2007 Paterno was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Following Penn State’s national title in 1986, Paterno became the first college football coach to be named Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Year.”
Paterno came to the State College as a graduate assistant in 1950 after graduating from Brown University. After 16 seasons, he took over the program and has stayed at Penn State -- spurning multiple professional offers -- long enough to become the longest-tenured head coach in NCAA Division I history.
SB Nation’s Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries notes that Paterno’s impact has gone beyond the football field:
On an individual level, he has psychological tweaked players -- and all of us, along the way -- into performing better in the classroom, on the field, and in life. He has pushed for NCAA reform to make athletics more equitable on and off the field. He has taken chances on players in whom he saw potential unfulfilled, and often helped them to avoid the dangerous trappings of their adolescent environment. Penn State's football program has always graduated its athletes at a substantially higher rate than its competitors, and its graduation rate for African-American players was above the national average for more than twenty years. There is a reason people have referred to Paterno as "Saint Joe".
It’s an abrupt and unceremonious end for the coach. At age 84, Paterno was not going to coach forever, but (right or wrong) this scandal will now become as much a part of his legacy as the wins and philanthropy.
For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation’s Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.
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