Why Joe Paterno Will Never Return to Beaver Stadium, Be Honored for CFB Career

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Penn State is in some serious hot water. Former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is accused of allegedly sexually abusing little boys. 

Former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno knew about the incidents, but only told athletic director Tim Curley instead of taking the matter to the police.

What's going on at Penn State will only create a domino effect from here on out. 

Last night, Joe Paterno was fired once the Penn State board of trustees got involved. The news inspired students to take to the streets and vandalize everything in sight as they flipped over vehicles and light poles.

However, what the students may not know is that this is only the beginning.

Paterno will never return to Beaver Stadium and will never be honored for all of the great accomplishments he achieved on the football field.

Everybody knows he's an iconic figure in college sports and is one of the greatest coaches of all time. He has the most wins in college football with 409 and won two National Championships. He has the most bowl victories of all time with 24. What's more, he won 74 percent of his games.

That's all well and good.

However, he will also be remembered for not doing more when young boys were being molested for several years by a grown man.

This will affect the Nittany Lions for a long time. They now have to search for a head coach to replace Paterno. Good luck finding a quality coach that wants to deal with this mess, going forward.

They will also have to deal with the loss of top recruits, since many will now shy away from the university. Top recruit Noah Spence has already said the Nittany Lions may be off his list of schools to choose from.

This will tarnish the university for a long time. It will hurt the reputation of a school that was prestigious and known for having one of the top football programs in the country.

Penn State has lost a lot of respect from a lot of people in a matter of days. A lot of the blame should land on Joe Paterno for not speaking louder when he knew what was going on.

This could have ended a long time ago and could have been an easier pill to swallow if certain people did more.

Sure, Paterno has helped build this program to what they are today, but he is also a main part in what they will be in the future. A team that will struggle to land top recruits, a program with a tarnished image and a program that is hated by many.

There's no way that Paterno will be honored anytime soon for his accomplishments on the football field. It would be way too soon and hurt Penn State's image as they try desperately to keep the damage as minimal as possible. That's one of the main reasons they fired Paterno. Even a couple years would be too soon.

By the time the Nittany Lions and some of the college football world are ready to forgive Paterno for what he didn't do, it may be too late. He is 84 years old. The odds are he doesn't have much more time on this planet due to his deteriorating health.

Some would say he doesn't deserve to be honored, anyway. This overshadows anything he ever accomplished on the football field.

Whether you agree or not, chances are Paterno won't get the chance to celebrate one last time.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]

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