It's evident that people across the country are unaware of the utter dysfunction that is the Penn State coaching situation.
I live in North Carolina and watched the PSU-Alabama game with a neighbor. As we watched PSU burn all three first-half timeouts in their opening possession, my neighbor's question was: "Why is their offense so screwed up?"
My response: "Our head coach is almost 85, and the offensive playcalling responsibilities are shared between the hero of the 1959 Liberty Bowl and the son of the head coach."
I went on to explain that "one calls the passes and the other calls the runs," to which he responded, "huh?"
As the game continued, Paterno was repeatedly shown in the booth, alone, without a headset. My friend's next question was "How can he possibly be coaching?" to which I responded with profound insight, "I dunno."
There was no evident criticism of the coaching staff on a national level after that game. Therefore, it seems clear that either the national media is afraid to pick on a deified coaching legend or that Paterno has driven the program so far into mediocrity that PSU football no longer warrants discussion on a national level.
Either way, the rest of the country is unaware of the shambles that is the coaching situation in "Happy Valley."
Because of that, I'm fearful that Graham Spanier, Tim Curley and company will be too fearful of the national backlash of not renewing Paterno's contract to make the necessary, correct decision.
Neil Grove
Hillsborough, N.C.
Analysis right on
I am a transplant from Syracuse currently living in Tampa.
Over the past few days, I have read a number of articles concerning Syracuse's recent move to the ACC. Neil Rudel's Sept. 21 article "PSU could have done a lot for Big East" was one of the best articles that I have read on the topic.
Rudel's article provided excellent analysis and insight into why the Big East is facing the problems it is today. I felt that his point on the lost road trips for PSU fans after the school moved to the Big Ten was a subtle yet powerful observation on the current state of college athletics.
I also agree with his observation that West Virginia is the biggest loser in this whole deal. I thought the article was great.
Marty Deptula
Tampa, Fla.
