Paterno turned down offer to become Steelers coach in 1969

[SteelerEmpire]

Article:

With the horrific developments out of Penn State, any reflection on the career of Joe Paterno is tinged with conflicting emotions.

That said, the folks over at Shutdown Corner point out that Paterno very nearly accepted an offer to become the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, way back in 1969.

LINK: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d...-coach-in-1969

[Psycho Ward 86]

Makes you wonder how that would've turned out. Even though he's the winningest college coach ever, i doubt he wouldve topped what Chuck Noll did. It's not like a shadow of us passing on Johnny U or Dan Marino in previous years.

Off topic...all of this crap that paterno has to deal with is bullshit. The guy even said he was going to retire after this season. They couldnt wait a couple of weeks to let loose the guy that WAS the Nittany Lions? For crying out loud, he's done way too much for that team, and this situation is NOT his fault. Pisses me off

[VTsteel]

Not his fault? He had knowledge that his "heir apparent" was anally raping a ten year old in the locker room. All he did was pass the buck to the A.D.

Coach Paterno should've called the cops.

He should not have allowed Sandusky to hurt another child. And don't even get me started on Mcqueary and how he could catch Sandusky in the act and make eye contact with that child and NOT come to his rescue blows me away.

[GoSlash27]

Not his fault? He had knowledge that his "heir apparent" was anally raping a ten year old in the locker room. All he did was pass the buck to the A.D.

Coach Paterno should've called the cops.

He should not have allowed Sandusky to hurt another child. And don't even get me started on Mcqueary and how he could catch Sandusky in the act and make eye contact with that child and NOT come to his rescue blows me away.

^ This. Winning football games is not mitigating circumstances. I can't fathom how *anybody* in the chain of command could fail to put a stop to it, let alone all of 'em. Anybody who defends Joe Pa on the grounds of his NCAA record has their priorities seriously hosed IMO.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Not his fault? He had knowledge that his "heir apparent" was anally raping a ten year old in the locker room. All he did was pass the buck to the A.D.

Coach Paterno should've called the cops.

He should not have allowed Sandusky to hurt another child. And don't even get me started on Mcqueary and how he could catch Sandusky in the act and make eye contact with that child and NOT come to his rescue blows me away.

ive read the grand jury report. Have you? There are a plethora of people that had direct or far more direct knowledge of the sexual misconduct than Paterno. Paterno was just a listening ear that got caught in a whirlwind caused by more irresponsible people. The graduate assistant should have called the cops, the wrestling coach at the weight room should have called the cops, the janitor should have called the cops...just a few of the people who actually saw what went down and did essentially nothing, or less than Paterno.

Yeah, Paterno's legacy makes the whole thing more shocking, but even if he was a nobody, he was not the culprit: http://cbschicago.files.wordpress.co...resentment.pdf

[fansince'76]

Makes you wonder how that would've turned out. Even though he's the winningest college coach ever, i doubt he wouldve topped what Chuck Noll did.

Yep. Would Joe Pa have taken Mean Joe in 1969 with his first pick? That's just one example.

[X-Terminator]

Just FYI, we have an ongoing thread about the child sex abuse scandal in the BSing forum and it's also being discussed a bit in the Penn State Football forum, in case you wish to talk about it in-depth. I'd rather try to keep this thread on-topic as much as possible.

Thanks.