Schiano to PSU in 2009?

The whole 'Schiano might succeed Paterno' base is getting all riled up, with The Phanatic Magazine reporting that the final details are being worked out by the Lasch Building suits and Schiano. Uh huh, right...

For a detailed rundown of the situation, I'll send you over to BSD, where Mike has way more time than I do to get something out right away on this:

"[Schiano] took a position as a graduate assistant at Rutgers after college and one year later accepted a job as a graduate assistant at Penn State in 1990. One year later he was promoted to defensive back coach where he served under Paterno from 1991-1995. In 1996 he was hired by Dave Wannstedt as an assistant defensive coach for the Chicago Bears. Serving in that role for two years he was promoted to defensive back coach. One year later he accepted a position as defensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes. He was with the Hurricanes during the 1999-2000 seasons in which Miami was 12th and 5th in the country in defensive points allowed those two years.

In December of 2000 Schiano accepted the head coaching job at Rutgers where he has coached ever since. He took over a struggling program that had only appeared in one bowl games in their entire history. Schiano struggled his first few years failing to achieve a winning record. But several years of good recruiting started to pay off in 2005 when the Knights won seven games and an invitation to the Insight Bowl. Though they lost the game 40-45 to Arizona, everyone could tell progress was being made. In 2006 Rutgers experienced their best year since 1976 going 11-2, winning the Texas Bowl, and finishing the season ranked #12 in the country. An amazing feat for a program that only won one game just four years earlier. In 2007 Rutgers went to their third straight bowl game winning the International Bowl against Ball State."

In case you didn't go to BSD before reading this, I'll remind you that this is just a part of what Mike had to say. So go check it out, and then come back after dinner to check out what I have to say.

More below the fold...

Blue and White Roundtable :: Bootleg Edition

I'm pretty sure no one would have a problem with this. So here it is. ZN will take on the latest Blue and White Roundtable, we'll call it the "Bootleg Edition."

Fine Penn State blogs that participate in the BWRT:

http://www.nittanywhiteout.com/
http://www.blackshoediaries.com/
http://thenittanyline.blogspot.com/
http://gloryofoldstate.blogspot.com/
http://www.yurasko.net/wfy/
http://tangledupinwhiteandblue.blogspot.com/
http://thebigeleventh.blogspot.com/
http://mvn.com/ncaa-pennstate/
http://runupthescore.wordpress.com

1. The announcement Wednesday is that contract talks are on hold until the conclusion of this season, and that Joe might not even need a contract to coach, how do you see this saga ending? Is this the final year for Joe Paterno?

ZN: If Penn State wins more than 10 games and notches a January bowl victory, that’s it for Paterno. He, the administration and the other powers want him to get—as left-field as it sounds—one more double-digit season before he goes. Ideally, he’d want an undefeated season. Paterno’s said that before. As messed up as this off-season has been, it is still possible. So I’ll go with yes, it’s his final year. Bradley will be named, and everyone will be screaming “why didn’t they f***ing do that when we still had a shot at Terrelle Pryor?”

2. Joe will clearly not be on the sidelines in 10 years time. Whether he is awarded another extension or is forced out against his will, a new face will inevitably be on the sidelines for the Lions in the years to come. Which candidates would top the list when it comes to a coaching search? Should it be an in-house hire or should we start off with a blank slate?

ZN: I’m selling my self out to the idea of giving Bradley a shot. I know it would still leave the door open to Jay Paterno staying, but it’s a risk I think Penn State should take. If there were a short list of candidates—Penn State will have to do this, just to make it seem like someone else has a chance—it would be Scrap, Greg Schiano, and Al Golden. Throw in a Randy Edsall or Brian Kelly for the outside shots. Other than that, it’ll really be between Scrap and Schiano.

3. It almost seems as if we find another athlete in trouble with the law each morning when we read the newspaper. What has gone wrong with the once pristine image of the Penn State program?

ZN: Not as much as people think. It’s not the program. The recent run-ins with the law are just exacerbated by the rest of Penn State’s problems. Face it, more college football players are getting in trouble, not just at Penn State, everywhere. Penn State is still a clean program. Arrests have not as much to do with a program’s reputation as recruiting scandals, gambling scandals and academic scandals. Penn State’s had none of them. Hey, it’s not like Joe Paterno is allowing Chris Bell to play, or Chris Baker to play until his fate is decided. Then we’d be in trouble.

4. After 14 years in the Big Ten, Penn has not dominated the conference in football as most presumed when we joined winning only 2 Big Ten titles in that span. In 1994, Joe Paterno’s undefeated Nittany Lions were also backstabbed by its Big Ten brethren when most conference members voted for Nebraska instead of Penn State. Is the Big Ten the right home for Penn State? Or would Joe Paterno’s dream of an all-eastern conference be a much more ideal conference for the Nittany Lions?

ZN: Go back to 1989, and the eastern conference would have still worked like a dream. But now, it’s nearly impossible. With the Big East on the rise, and the ACC not going anywhere, Penn State doesn’t have the pull to lure some of those teams away. Plus, it would look real bad if Penn State backed out of the Big Ten to form its own conference. We’d never hear the end of it, “PSU couldn’t hack it in the Big Ten, so it quit.”

5. With the lack of our traditional rivals in the Big Ten conference, and our unwillingness to reschedule any of them in any consistent manner, which teams are emerging as Penn State’s chief rivals in the Big Ten? (USC-Notre Dame proves that rivalries aren’t all about geographic significance.)

ZN: I would LOVE to see Penn State and Nebraska strike it up more than twice every couple years. Get them on at least every three of four years. Both programs need a boost right now, and what better way than to have a slam dunk September match up each year? I know, there are others out there like Pitt, Syracuse, Maryland, West Virginia, but Nebraska and Penn State have more national history between them. I think this would even top Penn State vs. Miami on a yearly basis, although that would be my strong No. 2. Oh, wait. That wasn’t the question. Sorry. Ohio State is becoming a marquee game. And with Penn State having a better record vs. Ohio State than Michigan since 2001, it’s been more competitive than the conference’s “big game.” I also really like what the Penn State vs. Michigan State rivalry has become.

Bonus question: Are you going to the Blue White Game?

ZN: No. I went to five straight, and it rained for three of them. Following the 2005 game, I was doused with mug from a moron in a JEEP. Then I totaled my car on Rt. 80 West a few days later when I hit an icy bridge at mile marker 190. Four other cars hit that ice and wrecked. Oddly enough, none of us hit each other. Weird. I’m rambling a lot today.

More below the fold...

It's 70 degrees, cloudy, and all I want to do is watch some Penn State football

Not too long ago, I said the posting on ZN might take a dip because of the off season and how boring it can be. Well, we all know where that went. From the Tyrelle Pryor thing to Joe Paterno's contract, and Chris "Cooking Knife" Bell, we just can't stay away. I almost wish none of this were going, if for no other reason than I just want a freaking break.

But I know that will certainly not happen. No, this Paterno contract will loom dark over Penn State for the remainder of 2008. Paterno and the Nittany Lions could be standing high on the podium at the Orange Bowl, accepting the BCS National Championship Trophy in January, and the first question to come out will be, "Coach, will you step down now?" What I'm almost dreading more, is if Penn State loses a game it shouldn't, or worse, to possibly the worst Michigan team in 40 years. It will be worse than the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding down Mount Nittany laying slaughter to Happy Valley on their way up the hill to Old Main.

I'm not going to add anything else today. I'm basically taking off from now until Monday. I have no idea what will happen before the Blue White Game, hopefully nothing. We all just need to calm down, count back from 10 (like that actually ever works) and breathe. I might even break out the old game tapes from 2005. Just remember though, if this whole Spread HD crap works out, it will be something to take our minds off all the other bullshit being caused by Paterno and Graham Cracker Spanier.

More below the fold...

Paterno Contract Talks On Hold

Joe Paterno isn't going anywhere, for now. The AP launched this bombshell of a story today. But should we be surprised? I don't know how this will turn out. Not many people do. All I can say is I hope people will just let it go for now, and concentrate on football. Yeah, right. Click below for the full AP story.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -Contract talks with Penn State coach Joe Paterno are on hold until the end of this season, when the 81-year-old's deal expires.

Penn State president Graham Spanier told The Associated Press in an e-mail that both the school and Paterno, who is entering his record 43rd season as head coach, agree a new deal isn't necessary right now.

"We are in agreement that a contract would have little practicality given Coach Paterno's seniority. None of us see that as necessary," Spanier wrote in the e-mail Wednesday night. "Our preference is to continue to review the status of the program on an annual basis, and we will next do so at the conclusion of the 2008 season."

Administrators and Paterno have met twice recently to discuss the football program, Spanier said. The two sides typically meet each offseason, though this year's meetings are drawing more attention because of Paterno's contract.

Paterno has not sought a new deal, and the university has not offered one, Spanier said. "I wish to reiterate my continuing support for Coach Paterno," he wrote at the beginning of his e-mail.

With 372 wins, Paterno is one behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden for most among major college coaches.

Spanier praised Paterno as the "most admired and accomplished football coach in America" and said he was grateful for his leadership.

Two weeks ago, Paterno said he wasn't worried about his situation, and wasn't looking for a new contract. He said he would be comfortable going year to year.

"I don't even care if I get a contract. I'll be very frank with you," Paterno said during the spring practice news conference. "I think the university will do what they think is right, whenever the time comes. Right now, I'm very comfortable."

Paterno later added, "If I've got to have a contract to keep my job here, I'm in the wrong place." He joked he could coach "just another 10 years."

Last month, athletic director Tim Curley said there was no timetable to make decisions Paterno's future.

During a break in a university trustees meeting in January, Spanier had said he expected Paterno to coach in 2008, but that he hadn't had chance to talk to him. Spanier also then declined comment on potential succession plans for Paterno.

Since then, Spanier said, he has spoken twice with Paterno, and the idea of a succession plan had been discussed.

Late last year, Florida State signed the 78-year-old Bowden to one more year with an option for another, while also designating offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher as "head coach-in-waiting."

Purdue earlier this year also announced that newly hired associate head coach Danny Hope would succeed head coach Joe Tiller after the 2008 season.

"With regard to succession planning, I want to assure everyone that the three of us are very mindful of the importance of a smooth transition and we are very confident that will occur when we reach that point," Spanier wrote.

Spanier said he respected the plans announced by other institutions, "but we feel that each university must evaluate its own approach."

"We will be prepared when the time comes, and of course we will identify someone who would continue Penn State's values and traditions, pursuing success in a way that makes us all proud while extending the great reputation we enjoy nationally," Spanier said.

Paterno reiterated two weeks ago that he wouldn't mind seeing someone on his staff follow in his footsteps.

"Whether that's in the cards, I don't know right now. It depends on when I get out of it," Paterno said then. "If I'm going to leave tomorrow, I would hope that it's in the cards, but I'm not planning on leaving tomorrow."

More below the fold...

PSU AD Curley: No Timetable on Paterno

Penn State AD Tim Curley said at a presser today that there's no timetable on Paterno's exit.

Q. Joe (Paterno) is going into the last year of his contract. Are you looking to get something done in terms of extension or plan for the future?

"We're just visiting in the off-season and when we have something to report, we will. We don't have any specific timetables. We've had some calendar issues in terms of getting together. Those will be resolved. We've already met once and will continue to meet and keep our discussions going."

Q. What about the women's basketball program? Obviously they had a tough ending of the year. What are your thoughts?

"I've been really pleased with the transition with Coquese (Washington) and her staff. Obviously, the last part of the calendar didn't work in our direction. I really just see good things there. We're all frustrated it didn't end on a better note. Everything I can tell, she's got the makings of everything we thought she could do when we hired her."

Q. You said you met once with Joe. Can you go into any detail?

"No, I really don't want to go into detail. We indicated we'd get together and we have since that last time we talked. Those discussions are going to continue. Once we feel like we have something to report, we will at that time."

Q. Is it important to get something done by spring practice?

"I don't think there's any deadline that's super imperative right now. Obviously when spring practice starts he gets pretty tied-up and pretty focused, but I wouldn't put a deadline on it."

Email ZN: ZombieNationPSU@gmail.com Please take a moment to support ZN, by visiting some of our sponsors.

More below the fold...

Article of the day - Coaching Succession Plans

I generally try to feature an article each day from another site. Usually they're from Penn State or Big Ten blogs, sometimes from other sites. Please check out the author's Web site. I always supply the link in the introduction.

You knew it was only a matter of time before some columnist had his rant on the new trend of choosing a head coach's successor. The first one I saw was from our dear old friend over at ESPN.com, Pat Forde. Actually, this one isn't as bad as the Ohio State bash-fest he wrote a while back. This article has some semblance of thought to it. So, without boring you anymore, here is Pat Forde's take on the coaching succession fad.

Those newfangled succession plans shouldn't be just for coachesBy Pat Forde
ESPN.com

Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for coming for this announcement. I've decided it's time to reveal my succession plan here at ESPN.com:

When I retire from column writing, it has been arranged for my 12-year-old son, Mitchell, to take over. (This is me now, but ESPN.com couldn't get a better shot of Forde's daught--er, I mean, son.)

All the suits in Bristol have signed off on it. I'd introduce you to the Columnist-in-Waiting, but I can't get the Wii control out of his hand long enough to put on his clip-on tie and pose for pictures.

I know you'll be excited about this. Many of you already think I write at a seventh-grade level, especially readers from the great state of Ohio, so the transition should be seamless. But it won't be immediate.

Sometime in the next 20 years, I'll shut down the old laptop and turn it over to my kid. When in the next 20 years? I have no idea. Probably when they pry my stiff, dead fingers off the keyboard, but don't ask because I won't tell.

Determining a timetable is not the point. The points are these:

A. For me to exert control past the termination of my tenure and into the next.

B. To force my employer to buy into it.

C. To show how much political capital I've earned during my tenure.

This is the hottest trend in Sportsworld -- naming your own successor without naming a succession date. Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts did it this week, establishing assistant Jim Caldwell as the next coach of the Colts at whatever point Dungy decides to join his family in Tampa.

(I know it's almost sacrilege to say anything bad about Dungy, but does anyone else find it a bit odd that the alleged No. 1 family man in the NFL sent his family to Florida while he stays in Indy to chase another championship?)

Succession Mania is all over the place in college. Especially basketball: Bob Knight will be succeeded at Texas Tech by Pat Knight, time TBD; Lute Olson will be succeeded by Kevin O'Neill at Arizona, time TBD; Jim Boeheim will be succeeded by Mike Hopkins at Syracuse, time TBD. Sean Sutton, Tony Bennett and Keno Davis already have taken over for their dads at Oklahoma State, Washington State and Drake, respectively.

In college football, Kentucky just named offensive coordinator Joker Phillips as the heir apparent to Rich Brooks. Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher has been slotted to replace Bobby Bowden at Florida State, should Bowden eventually decide he doesn't want to coach until he's 100. Purdue just hired Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope as an apprentice to replace Joe Tiller.

The Purdue deal at least comes with a finite retirement date, effective after next season. The rest of them? Whenever the old buzzard in charge feels the urge.

Hey, lots of kids and/or other handpicked successors take over family businesses. But in most of those cases, the guy turning over the top job owns the business. In sports, there allegedly are school presidents and team owners calling the shots -- but apparently not all the shots.

Washington State's Tony Bennett is one successor who has been as good as promised.
Some of these agreements have worked out splendidly. Tony Bennett has dramatically improved the product at Washington State, and Keno Davis has done the same in a breakthrough season at Drake.

But the open-ended succession scenarios are probably worth about as much as the paper used for the press releases. They might last as long as a ninth-grader's oral commitment. Coaches already walk out on contracts and commitments all the time; what makes you think this will be any different?

For instance: Fisher came to Florida State last year for a handsome sum. On Dec. 7, the school announced that Fisher was its choice to succeed Bowden at a later date. About two weeks later, Fisher listened to West Virginia's overture about becoming the next head coach of the Mountaineers. He decided to stay in Tallahassee, but the succession agreement hardly deterred him from looking at another job almost immediately.

(One other thing about Fisher: He has a great rep in coaching circles, which helped earn him superstar coordinator pay at FSU. But in his first season the Seminoles deteriorated from 45th nationally in scoring offense and 70th in total offense under the excoriated Jeff Bowden to 90th in scoring offense and 80th in total offense under the sainted Fisher. Hm.)

Kentucky could be facing a similar situation with other schools making runs at Phillips. Brooks' oft-stated goal in Lexington is to become the longest-tenured head coach of the Wildcats. That would be 10 years on the job, and Brooks is halfway there. If Kentucky's offense keeps lighting up scoreboards the way it has the past two years under Phillips' command, do you really think he's going to sit around until 2013 waiting for a job?

My suspicion is that Kentucky and FSU were trying to pre-empt other job offers, while assuaging recruits at the same time. Most of these collegiate succession arrangements are used to convey continuity on the recruiting front -- so commit now, kid, and quit worrying about who your coach will be.

There probably are or have been other succession arrangements that went unannounced. Nobody was shocked when Bill Guthridge took over for Dean Smith at North Carolina, for example. But as Michigan football is likely to find out with Rich Rodriguez, breaking out of a familial mold can eventually serve a stale program well.

Change is often good. Job searches that expand beyond the usual suspects with ties to a school or a beloved coach can be beneficial. (See: Rick Pitino at Kentucky, Pete Carroll at USC, Urban Meyer at Florida, and so forth.)

But quite frankly, that kind of thinking is for other suckers. Here at ESPN.com, I'm riding the succession wave. My 12-year-old kid is taking over this space -- just as soon as he learns how to type faster than 18 words a minute.

Pat Forde is a national columnist for ESPN.com. He can be reached at ESPN4D@aol.com.

More below the fold...

Deleted

Deleted

More below the fold...

Successionist Party

Talk has officially grown to roar on Joe Paterno's possible succession plan at Penn State. Partly due to West Virginia losing Rich Rodriguez to Michigan, and taking interest in ICOD Tom Bradley, and partly due to the recent announcement of Jimbo Fisher as the "Head Coach In-Waiting" at Florida State, the Penn State football nation has clamored for an outline of the program's future--any future.

The cries for his retirement plan have only made Paterno more tight-lipped about the issue. Rumors of him leaving have swirled around Happy Valley since the New England Patriots tried to woo him in the early 1970s. But that wasn't talk of retirement. Many believed that Paterno would go after he won his second national championship in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, capping his first undefeated championship season. He didn't go anywhere, instead staying to reel off some of the most underachieving years in the Paterno era at Penn State--8-4, 5-6, 8-3-1, 7-5.

Then it happened, the perfect opportunity. From 1991 through 1994, Penn State landed itself into three New Years Day bowls and 49 wins over that span. Above all, the 1994Lions were considered by many as national champions, sporting a 12-0 record. Penn State was ready for Paterno to say "I'm done." But again, it didn't happen. Another close call came in 1999, when ICOD Jerry Sandusky left. But Joe remained.

Now, with many big-time programs like Florida State, Michigan and Wisconsin giving advanced notice of their coaches' plans, Penn State fans are wondering why Tim Curley and Paterno are keeping mum on the issue. Paterno has said time after time that he would like one more undefeated season, especially after coming so close in 2005. He mentioned that although he doesn't hold stock in records, stats and public opinion, he would like to have a perfect year in each decade he's coached. He's only got three seasons left to do it.

Penn State is not known for its element of surprise when it comes to almost anything, but there's a very real chance the events of the past week and a half could spark a sudden change of heart in the Lasch Building. While it would catch many off guard to see a press conference called sometime before Coastal Carolina comes to town, announcing a succession plan, I wouldn't be that shocked. Penn State is conservative. Penn State is old school. But above all, Penn State is Joe Paterno, and no one will call the shots but Joe Paterno.

More below the fold...