Paterno Working on a Succession Plan?

by BSD on Mar 10, 2008 1:42 PM EDT in Football Comment 9 comments

Joe Paterno spent a good portion of the Nike Coaches clinic seeking out Joe Tiller for advice. And he wasn't asking him how to grow a fabulously groomed mustache either. He wanted to know about succession plans.

Tiller will retire after the 2008 season and be replaced by Danny Hope, who has left a head coaching job with Eastern Kentucky to join Tiller's staff for a transition season. Paterno, the 81-year-old Penn State coach whose contract runs through this season, sought out Tiller, full of questions that he wanted answered.

"He was asking me 'Why?' and 'Who?' and 'How?' " Tiller said during a telephone interview. "He didn't really tip his hand. But he did ask me 'Who's this guy?' and 'Why did I like him?' and 'Why now?' and those types of things.

"He didn't say, 'I'm thinking about this or I've got to do this.' But, after it had been announced, he seemed to be curious."

Something is going down soon. It has to. We're about to enter spring practice in the final year of Joe's contract. At this point nobody knows what is going to happen after 2008. Recruits are sitting back waiting to see how the coaching situation is going to play out. We can't wait until they are all committed to Rutgers and Virginia before we make our move. A decision has to come by the end of March if you ask me.

It's not a popular sentiment, but I've been saying along I belive Joe is going to get a four year extension and all of the assistant coaches are going to be locked up through 2009. But I believe 2008 will be his last year. Spanier wants to pick out the next coach through a national search. Joe wants security for his assistants. This is the only solution in which both guys get what they want. If the next guy comes in and lets the assistant coaches go they all get a nice check to hold them over until they find another job.

0 recs | Comment 9 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I agree with most

of your analysis. I do think something of an end game is being neglected. I don't think Joe will get a 4 year contract. I think they will offer him a 2 year extension with the agreement that 2010 will be his last season. He may actually retire before then. It gives him the option to coach one or two years without a farewell year if that's what he wants. I believe a final retirement date needs to be announced before any worth while coach will even begin discussing replacing Joe. Other coaches have too much respect for Joe and don't want to have any part in a FORCED retirement. By Joe agreeing to a final retirement date it gives Spanier and the other coaches (inside and outside of the program)the opportunity to talk with out the appearance of sabotaging Joe.

by ageing lion on Mar 10, 2008 2:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

multi-year deal, then quit

I expect Paterno to get a multi-year contract as well, but retire midway through it. He wants to feel as though he is doing it on his terms. I expect a 3-year deal which he will walk away from after one season. He'll have beaten Old Main one more time.

by WFY on Mar 10, 2008 3:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

its too bad

he has to go to joe tiller for advise, never though a guy with such a horrible offense (although a great mustache) would be mentioned when talking about how we are going to get a new coach.

The Big Eleventh Blog

by Big 11th on Mar 10, 2008 4:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

With Quarless getting suspended and

no actual quotes coming from JoePa, the silence eminating out of State College is deafening. Ageing Lion brings up an excellent point that nobody is going to want to comment on the job until Joe announces his decision. Nobody would want to seem as though they are part of some back room deal to force Joe out. And as Mike has posted last week, Joe is getting tired; he doesn't give LOI day press conferences anymore, he doesn't travel, etc., all the things that one would expect from a normal 81 year old man, even one in good health. Joe can still be a vibrant and productive member of the atheletic department and the university. I don't see any extension for Joe; I think this all revolves around protecting the staff that has been so loyal and served him so well for so long. Spanier, if he wants his national search, can just agree to a two year severance package for the staff if none of them would be retained by an outside coach. But do you really think Bradley, Johnson, or Vanderlinden would want to work for an outsider that came in and got the opportunity that none of them got? Perhaps part of the problem with off the field issues is that Joe has been, and understandably so, going through the motions the last year or two, and that there really is nobody in charge there right now.

Additionally, while Bill Cowher says he has no interest in this job, why spend the night at Tim Curley's house? Just because his daughter is a potential scholarship recipient in women's basketball? I ain't buying it. How many other prospects parents spend the night at the Curley household? This is just a gut feeling, but there could be more to this than meets the eye. Remember, Cowher and his family lived apart during his last year on the Steelers' sideline.

And one last thing: check out the sports page in Sunday's Harrisburg Patriot News. Seems a certain Pryor kid from Jeanette was involved in a small melee after their basketball game last week. Since he seems to love to fight, it seems he would be the perfect addition to our gangsta squad. But seriously, the longer ALL of this goes on (his putting off making a commitment, his behavior during basketball games) makes it more and more apparent that this kid is going to be nothing but trouble and a headache for whoever ends up with him. And remember, WE DON'T NEED HIM!!! We have Clark for two years and Devlin for three.

by Ab4PSU on Mar 10, 2008 4:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree with

Ab4PSU about Joe's decreasing involvement concerning matters of discipline, recruiting, etc. However, my take is whatever the University decides (i.e. Spanier/Curley) I do hope that Joe can depart with dignity and respect. I do not want to see some sort of media fiasco where all kinds of "dirt" ends up being on the front page of the CDT concerning why Joe left, etc. Regretfully, this may happen.

Personally, I hope Joe stays for several more years. Yes, I do disagree with some of his play calling, etc., at the same time, (call me crazy) and I am proud to still see him along the sidelines. When talking with a fan from Iowa this past season; his comment was that he came to see the game because he wanted to see JoePa! Wow! this is the kind of attention this man draws; outside of PSU! I'm certain that we all know of the reverence that JoePa commands from those outside of PSU.

Obviously he has to go sometime so, when he does, I hope that it is on his own terms and not some shady back room dealing or forceable exit. I also hope that Bradley can be elevated to head coach. What is wrong with hiring from within?

As for Cowher; I seriously doubt that he is interested in PSU. I am a die hard Steeler fan, at the same time, I am fully aware that the Rooneys (with all due respect) aren't "moneybags" when it comes to paying the coaches or players (Ben's new contract notwithstanding). I agree with this philosophy; and it seems to work for the Steelers FO most of the time. It is no secret that Cowher left Pgh due to the lack of additional compensation after winning the SB. Also; Cowher has mentioned that he desires a warmer climate. Although it would be interesting to see him as the head coach at PSU; I am 99.99% confident that it won't happen (I'll leave an ever so slight amount of varability). If he does, by chance, come to PSU, Spanier will not get him at JoePa's salary, that is one certainty. Nonetheless, in a few years, I see Cowher coaching at Carolina, Jax, Miami or Atlanta with very comfortable compensation. Not that there is anything wrong with this scenario; just pure speculation on my part.

Sorry for the long post; its been a while since I've visited and I figured I'd add my two cents.

by unitboy on Mar 11, 2008 10:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oops

It's "forcible"; not "forceable"! Sorry, not enough coffee yet!

by unitboy on Mar 11, 2008 10:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I

don't like succession plans personally. What's so hard about conducting interviews and hiring the best person available?? I mean they could give the job in house without a succession plan, just make sure it's the right guy.

WE ARE, PENN STATE!

by LinebackerU on Mar 11, 2008 1:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think, and this is just my opinion, that it's

best in college sports to have a succession plan so that recruits know who they are going to be playing for if the coach that recruits them is no longer the head coach. Look at Ryan Mallet at Michigan. He is not a spread offense type of quarterback, and Dickweed Rodriguez is a spread offense coach. Mallet's talents don't fit the system. Let's face it: most of these kids are going to college to play so they can showcase their talents for the NFL or NBA. If their talents don't fit the coaches system, they're going to sit. And there's millions and millions of dollars riding on this. So, in my humble opinion, when a coach is getting close to the end of a contract (or in JoePa's case, career), it's best that the university have an idea about who's going to replace them.

by Ab4PSU on Mar 11, 2008 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

that

is a great point, I don't know why I didn't think along those lines. Most coaches at college usually can implement their system with what they got....but not Rodriguez, he could've used him to have a pass oriented spread...but he's a clown lol

WE ARE, PENN STATE!

by LinebackerU on Mar 11, 2008 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs