Penn State’s Joe Paterno only looks to be sleeping through this season. Photo: Kevin McGuire
Stop me if you have heard this before. Joe Paterno is hurting the Penn State program more than he is helping it at this point.
For those of you who may not be familiar with my background or line of thinking, I have generally been quick to dismiss that kind of comment whenever it comes up in the conversation. While I readily admit that Paterno does not have the same kind of impact he had 10, 15, 20 years ago I have always felt that there was some exaggeration in anti-Paterno comments. You have to understand something about me. I grew up in a house hold that placed a miniature cardboard Joe Paterno on top of the Christmas tree every other year, in a family that forced my uncle to reschedule his wedding not once, but twice due to conflicts with a Penn State football schedule. I grew up reading books about Paterno and idolizing “The Grand Experiment” that based success as a program not just on the field but in the class room.
For the most part, Paterno’s impact on Penn State and the sport of college football is largely overlooked because he does not run a program like Bob Stoops runs Oklahoma, Nick Saban runs LSU and Alabama, Pete Carroll led USC. These coaches took historic programs and made them great. I think many feel that Penn State could see the same kind of turnaround ahead of them, and there are plenty of reasons to expect that, but nobody seems to find the Nittany Lions getting back to an elite level with Paterno in charge.
Count me in that mix.
I still want to believe that Paterno has earned the right to step aside on his own decision (a position I still support) but now I’m becoming one of the guys who says that change needs to happen. Soon.
Cory Giger, of The Altoona Mirror, made some strong statements in a recent column following Penn State’s less-than-inspiring 16-10 victory against Indiana.
“Joe and Jay Paterno are making decisions based on what’s best for them and a few others instead of what’s best for the team,” Giger says. At first glance it seems to be a little harsh, but find me one Penn State fan who will disagree with this. Really. Try. I’ll give you some time to go search and come back and finish reading. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Oh hey, you’re back! What’s the matter? Couldn’t find anybody, could you? Didn’t think so.
Giger points out some of the most famous criticisms of Paterno, and they are fair. Paterno is hanging on to coaching because it gives him something to do. He has said before that he is afraid of dying when he gives it up, as Bear Bryant did. His inability to part ways with the game are both a tad selfish but also something to be admired. The man simply loves the game, and nobody can truly hold that against him, can they? If you have the ability to do what you love at the age of 84, I find it difficult to criticize. That said, it is clear that Paterno’s ability to manage a program to its full potential is hindered.
We know that Paterno does not go out and recruit the way many coaches will these days. Many of those responsibilities have been handed off to the coaching staff, some more successful than others. The assistants go out and recruit and Paterno attempts to seal the deal when the kids come to State College. To those who pledge their allegiance to Penn State, Paterno is commonly one of the top reasons for coming. Paterno is a hit with some kids and families love him. Even Terrelle Pryor’s father wanted his son to consider Penn State, but Paterno’s inability to keep the quarterback in-state was widely criticized and seen as the epitome of the downfall of Paterno. Knowing what we do now, was losing out on Pryor such a bad thing? We’ll leave that up for debate.
Getting back to the point, there is a popular belief that Paterno is holding on to the program long enough to allow his son, Jay, to be properly be prepared to succeed him as head coach. I don’t think that is necessarily true, although as long as Joe is the head coach, Jay has some of the best job security any assistant coach in the country has. That is a point Giger addresses as well.
But here is where I’ll differ from Giger and many in terms of Penn State this season. If you look at the numbers this season, Penn State’s passing game is well below average and is clearly struggling. Matt McGloin has certainly put up the better numbers compared to sophomore Rob Bolden, who has started every game this season as the two split playing time. We are now entering week six of the season and despite McGloin having the better numbers, Joe and Jay continue to drag out a pointless quarterback competition. Right now, the choice should clearly be McGloin. Giger, and many Penn State fans, agree.
But that does not mean he is the best option. Bolden is playing with a lost sense of confidence and swagger. As a true freshman Bolden stepped in and was starting from game one. Why? Because the coaching staff instilled confidence in his abilities. Did he struggle at times? Of course he did. He was a true freshman. When McGloin ultimately stepped in to the starting role he put up big numbers against some poor defenses (Michigan, Northwestern, Indiana) and struggled mightily against teams that actually play defense (Ohio State, Michigan State, Florida). After this weekend’s game against Indiana McGloin stated that he thought he played well (again) and deserved to be starting this week against Iowa. Pretty confident for a guy who completed 10 of 22 passes against the Hoosiers.
My question for this Penn State season is what if the coaching staff had decided early on that Bolden would be their guy. Would Bolden have performed with a better sense of confidence? Would he still have his swagger? Would he play more relaxed? More importantly, would he have been a better leader on the field and on the sidelines? Some of these things, ideally should not impact how Bolden handles himself on game day, but it still looks as though the coaching staff botched an opportunity this season. Nobody will dispute that Bolden’s potential outreaches McGloin’s but the difference this season for Bolden has been that the coaching staff put a public faith in him last year (until he was injured) and they have not this season.
To me, Paterno’s inability to choose one quarterback over the other (he says he does not want to be unfair to either player because they have worked so hard) is the biggest problem. At this point in the season, the indecision has already ruined the season and to continue on is just plain, old ridiculous. He may have improved eye sight after having some eye surgery done recently, but he doesn’t see that his inability to choose a full-time quarterback is hurting the program.
That is cause for concern for Penn State fans.
Let’s ask a few questions to wrap up.
Is Joe Paterno a good coach? Yes.
Is he a great coach? No.
Is he hurting the program? Yes.
Is he still an asset to the university? Yes.
Can Penn State force him out? Realistically, no.
Can Penn State be a Big Ten favorite and possible BCS contender under Paterno? No.
In this day and age, that last question appears to be the most important part of the equation. At Penn State, it is not.
Follow Kevin McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB.
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