Penn State's Paterno exits in storm of controversy

Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State University football coach with the jet-black hair, rolled up pants and formerly squeaky-clean image, won't get to call his last play.

The Penn State board of trustees did it for him Wednesday night, voting unanimously to fire Paterno, who was embroiled in a child sex-abuse scandal that has rocked this community and the college football world.


Paterno, 84, a college Hall of Famer and the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history, will be replaced on an interim basis for the rest of the season by long-time defensive coordinator Tom Bradley.

Paterno, with his wife Sue by his side, came to the door of his home at about 10:40 p.m. and addressed a group of 40 or so fans who had gathered on the front lawn of his modest house on McKee Street.

"Right now I'm not the coach, and I have to get used to that. I didn't think it was going to happen this way," he said, as he shook hands with the mix of students and adults, some with tears in their eyes, some who thanked him.

"It's messed up. They are doing this to a man who is a big reason Penn State is what it is today," wide receiver Derek Moye, a graduate of Rochester High School, said on Twitter.

Hours earlier, Paterno had said in a statement that he planned to retire after the end of the season, but the trustees took that decision away. In that statement, he said he was "absolutely devastated" by the charges leveled against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who is accused of sexually assaulting eight boys over a 15-year period.

"I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief," Paterno's statement said in part.

Paterno had demonstrated time and again that he was determined to leave on his own terms. As the final weeks of this football season wound down, and with it the last year of Paterno's three-year contract extension, many wondered whether he would finally call it quits. He said on more than one occasion, though, that he planned to continue coaching.

That question had yet to be answered when a state grand jury issued a report Saturday detailing the allegations against Sandusky. It said two Penn State officials -- athletic director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business -- failed to report an assault against one boy, which occurred in a locker room shower in 2002, after being told about it by Paterno and by a graduate assistant who witnessed it. Curley and Schultz were charged with perjury and failure to report. Both deny the charges.

Paterno was not charged, and Pennsylvania's Attorney General Linda Kelly said he did what he was legally required to do. But state police commissioner Frank Noonan said he thought others who were aware of the allegations had a moral burden to do more.

Paterno's statement Wednesday indicated he now understood that burden:

"... This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

After issuing the statement, Paterno met with his players and coaching staff for approximately 10 minutes Wednesday morning at the Lasch Football Building, where some of the alleged assaults took place, to inform them of his decision to retire at the end of the season.

Moye described it as a "very emotional" meeting. The team stood and applauded Paterno as he walked out.

"You almost got this feeling like this wasn't real," said quarterback Paul Jones. "It was like it was all made up. You wanted to believe as much as you could that it wasn't true.

"Then seeing him break down to tears, it made you realize how crazy it was. It made everything hit home. I never saw him cry before. It got to the point where he had to stop talking and gather his thoughts."

"I don't think we realize what's going on yet," quarterback Matt McGloin said. "We're all pretty upset with the news."

Paterno repeatedly stressed one point, telling the Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-0 Big Ten Conference) to go out and "beat Nebraska" on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.