It's Never Too Early To Complain

The Man Who Must Make The Most Important Decision In Penn State History, Shown Here Playing The Weara-Saxa-Tambor-Shake-a-Cow-Bell-Horn.
While we were all getting ourselves worked up over the non-news of second hand inside sources telling us all that Joe is old, it appears someone was actually listening.

Scout.com has released the "Big Complaints" for 2008. Joe made the list:

The Penn State head coaching situation
Joe Paterno can't be kicked out the door fast enough by the Penn State higher-ups who realize the transition of power just isn't going to be smooth. Succession plans are all the rage nowadays, like at Florida State where Bobby Bowden is turning the reins over to Jimbo Fisher while still serving as the head of state, but Penn State is in an uncomfortable situation of trying to figure out its future while still respecting the past, and even the present.

Paterno has been resistant, to put it mildly, to giving up the program he made into one of the models of college athletics, and now there's a problem. How much say does Paterno get in finding his successor when his bosses would love nothing more than to start clean, sort of like Michigan did with the Rich Rodriguez hire? Penn State will be decent again this season, but a recent slip in recruiting doesn't paint a rosy picture for the immediate future.

This begs for a rehash of all the things that Penn State Blog Army has been posting but I just can't do it. Emphasis mine on the last sentence of the first paragraph; while a large part of their blurb reads like a third grade No Child Left Behind essay, they get an A on their thesis.

One thing I want to point out that doesn't seem very consistent with all the implied news: if Old Main is clear that a high priced replacement isn't in the cards, why are they so against an internal hand-off to a long time assistant? A guy like Bradly would be cheap and safe, two things the Administration loves (not just in football, by the way). The flip side is expensive, even when poaching someone with ties like Schiano.

The only alternative I see that seems to satisfy both of these needs is Al Golden, but is he really better than Bradley? And would he be cheaper? I would say "I'm not sure" and "probably not".

Why I Keep Doing This I Don't Know - Pryor

Yesterday, Dennis Dodd wrote a story filled with fluff and nonsense. Grass grew also. I'd love to give you a link but I declared a while back not to link MSM if it is bullshit and everything Dodd writes qualifies under that declaration.

One interesting line from his story:

Reitz also said that if Tom Bradley were named Penn State coach today, Pryor would be headed to Penn State. Bradley, the Lions defensive coordinator, has recruited Pryor intensely but fairly. One thing keeping Pryor from signing with Penn State is the uncertain future of Joe Paterno.

Reitz is Terrelle Pryor's football coach. Shout out to Dodd for telling us his interpretation of the comment instead of simply quoting the guy. No offense, Denis, but I trust your judgment like I trust the guy who told me olestra doesn't give people the shits.

Lets forget this is a Dodd story for a second , assume it is true (big assumption IMO), and figure out what it means.

One: That Penn State is NOT telling recruits that Bradley is the next coach

Some have speculated that this is being said to recruits, maybe it is, but from this non-quote it doesn't appear that's the case. If it was, Pryor would have already committed to PSU.

Two: Bradley is a kick ass recruiter

Everyone already knew this. Moving on...

Three: Paterno may be hurting recruiting

This seems to be contradictory, as Penn State was out until Paterno showed up at Pryor's house. Maybe Paterno shed some light on the post-Paterno era during that visit, but if we are going to assume the non-quote is true then we have to assume Paterno refuses to name the successor. Fair considering, technically, it's not his call.


Again, I can't stress enough how misguided this statement probably is. If Dodd was actually doing his job he would simply tell us what the coach said instead of paraphrasing. However, it makes you wonder if Penn State really should get moving on the post 2008 thing.

The State of Bradley

The notion that Bradley could be going to WVU has thrown the entire Penn State blogosphere into total chaos. And to be fair, I understand why. But I think we all need to calm the fuck down (sort of).

Now I am not connected to the WVU program, but I do have Internet access. I did some research and, to be honest, the truth really isn't that scary. Based on what is out there right now.

-The buzz is that the main 'choices' are:
Mike Locksley of Illinois
Steve Sarkisian of USC
Steve Logan of BC
Chip Kelly of Oregon

-As has been much publicised on all the major networks, Terry Bowden wants the job badly. But only if it comes with a case of beer.


-So, Bradley. Someone from Morgantown had mentioned:

I haven't heard anything about Bradley.

Ok, so there's that, but a couple days later:

His name is in the hat.

I'm ok with this, in fact I would be a lot more worried if the guy who inspired "Linebacker U" t-shirts, a guy who has a commanding western PA recruiting presense, wasn't even being considered for a coaching job at WVU.

And besides, even if he does interview, even if they do like him, he is still probably, at best, 4th on their list. At best.

An interview never hurt anyone, and even if Bradley is 100% committed to staying at PSU, interviewing for the WVU job to gain some leverage with the Penn State admins is worth his time.

Now, if he does leave? Ya, that's shitty news. It means a couple of things:

-JoePa has, in fact, been string his assistants along for over a decade and not being honest with them.
-JoePa is going nowhere, "Where You Going? Nowhere!"


-The JayPa Rumor, the one where Joe forces PSU to take him with the threat of telling the mob bosses to stop the donations. The one where he runs our program into the ground with terrible QB play and the most predictable offensive play calling in the Big Ten. Ya, that one. Ya that one might not be a rumor any more, it might be the plan...