![]() ![]() Since graduating, Sandusky had worked athletics jobs at Juanita College and Boston University. March 21, 1969Ī small item in the local press reveals that former Nittany Lions player Jerry Sandusky is one of two new assistant coaches being added to the Penn State staff. Paterno teams over the next 18 seasons would lose just 37 times, with three undefeated seasons and two national championships. Madden retires from coaching in 1977 but soon after becomes a ubiquitous television presence for three decades. ![]() They meet each other three times in the conference championship, and account for seven Super Bowl wins between 19. Pittsburgh moves faster, and Davis "settles" on one of his assistants for the job, John Madden.īeginning in 1971, at least one of Pittsburgh and Oakland is in the AFC title game for every year but one over the next decade. Death, and John Madden's Oakland Raiders was also a candidate coveted by Oakland Raiders owner and general manager Al Davis for their coaching vacancy (Davis had previously coached with Noll under Sid Gillman in San Diego). The Steelers turn their attention to Baltimore defensive coordinator Chuck Noll, who according to the recent book Badasses: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. "Previously pro football held little attraction for me." "The Steelers made me an extremely generous offer to become their head coach, an offer which not only would have afforded a great personal challenge but would have assured lifetime financial security for my family," said Paterno. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who had never won a playoff game in decades of existence, reach out to Paterno, who said he was torn before ultimately turning down the offer to coach. January 1969Ī fascinating sequence of events and decisions that forever altered the fortunes of several people and three football franchises. Schembechler leads Michigan to at least a share of the conference title 13 times over the next two decades, with three Rose Bowl wins. "And once a year Don used to write me a letter and say, 'Thanks'" "We talked, and he offered me the job Bo Schembechler," Paterno said. Not reported at the time, Paterno in 2009 confirms a long-held belief that after Penn State's first of two undefeated seasons, he met with University of Michigan athletic director Don Canham. ![]() Paterno succeeds the retiring Engle as head coach at Penn State. Paterno, by now an associate coach widely believed to be the successor to Engle, cites "loyalties and deep rooted friendships" at Penn State as the deciding factor. They try again to no avail to lure Paterno back to the Ivy League. Yale had pursued Paterno for its head coaching job two years earlier but chose another candidate. The only vote of eight in favour of the new opportunity, according to the report, was Paterno's. 1956Īccording to a 1973 Sports Illustrated profile of Paterno, when Engle was offered the head coaching job at USC in 1956, a vote was taken among his staff as to whether they would prefer following him to California or staying. Brown coach Rip Engle accepts an offer to coach at Penn State, and Paterno agrees to join as mentor he decides to accept Engle's offer to join the staff as a coaching assistant. Paterno's first major life decision after graduating and playing football at Brown University. Here are some of the decisions, mostly made by Paterno, that kept him at Penn State through to the ignominious end. college football, likely the most well-known person in the sixth most populated state of the union, a symbol to many of integrity in sports, a pitiable figure later on for his decreasing facility as a football coach, and finally, scorned for inaction after allegations were made that his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was sexually assaulting young boys.Īs with any tale that unfolds over decades, there were many forks in the road. Over the next six decades Paterno became the winningest coach in U.S. To put that in perspective for Canadian readers, some of who have wondered why there should be so much interest in the story, that was five years before Toe Blake took over as coach of the Montreal Canadiens. Joe Paterno first joined the Penn State coaching staff in 1950.
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