Schiano to Penn State is still a longshot

By Darrell Laurant  |   Wednesday, June 11, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Rutgers Scarlet Knights
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It's a game within a game that the media and the fans like to play, moving coaches around on paper like toy soldiers on a game board. And this time of year, when the valley between the end of spring practice and the beginning of August drills often becomes a parched news desert, speculation about coaching changes and 'hot seats' always amps up a bit to fill the vacuum.

This spring, a lot of the speculation has revolved around ancient Penn State coach Joe Paterno and, by extension, young lion (but not Lion) Greg Schiano of Rutgers.

Paterno's contract runs out at the end of 2008, and Penn State president Graham Spanier has been adamant that the 82-year-old Nittany Lion legend will be offered year-to-year 'handshake deals' after that.

Paterno is on the cusp of breaking Amos Alonzo Stagg's record for longest tenure at one school (Stagg coached the University of Chicago from 1892-1932, 41 years), which will fall this fall. And the program isn't exactly falling apart around him -- the Lions have gone 9-4 in the last two years, with two bowl victories.

Moreover, the Penn State patriarch has made no definite statement about retiring after the upcoming season, adding ''I don't care if I ever get a contract. I know the university will do the right thing.''

Which brings us back to Schiano, a former Penn State defensive backfield coach who regards Paterno as his mentor. Schiano, of course, has done nothing to feed the rumors that he would be the logical choice to succeed JoePa.

Let's look at it both ways. The rumors may have substance because ...

1. Most coaches live by the mantra that ''there's always a better job.'' It's a lot like surfing -- the trick is to catch a wave just as it's beginning to build, ride it as far as you can, then jump to a larger one. Schiano has built Rutgers up from the doldrums, and he may feel he has nothing more to prove there.

2. There aren't many better jobs around. Schiano has turned down an offer from Miami, where he was also an assistant, and took his name out of the running for the Michigan job that went to Rich Rodriguez.

3. Penn State would be a logical move up for him. He knows the area, and he would be fishing in the same pond as far as recruiting is concerned.

But then again ...

1. Money could be a sticking point.

'"Penn State does not pay outlandish salaries to anyone,' Spanier has said. ''We try to compensate all of our coaches fairly, and we are aware of the market forces. But we do feel there's something special about being a coach at Penn State.

"So if someone wants to come and be a coach at Penn State to make lots of money and be rich, this isn't the culture that supports that."

2. Paterno has said on several occasions that he would like his successor to be 'in-house.' And Spanier would be wary of cutting ties with JoePa in anything less than an amicable way, because of Paterno's cozy relationship with most of the big donors.

3. Schiano is in the process of assembling one of the top recruiting classes in the Big East, and maybe even the nation. Several of those recruits have said, after announcing their verbal commitments, that they wanted to relocate to New Brunswick primarily because of Schiano and his young and energetic coaching staff. If Schiano announced that he was leaving for Happy Valley, chances are a lot of those 'commitments' would become moot, and things at Rutgers could get ugly.

4. The Scarlet Knights are on the cusp of being even better. It could be that Schiano hasn't ridden that wave close enough to shore yet.

5. Schiano and his staff seem to have an unusual closeness, and he is loyal to them. Paterno is equally loyal to his underlings. Would Penn State want a situation where a new coach would clean his house of those Nittany Lion coaching veterans and bring in a fresh staff?

6. Schiano is only 42. He has time to wait for another coach to succeed Paterno and hoist that burden on his back. In five years, the job might be available again, and he would still be relatively young. Or, the NFL could come calling at some point.

Certainly, based on Paterno's track record and current state of health (amazing for someone his age), Schiano would be ill-advised to make any concrete future plans. And he's smart enough to know it.
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