Penn State Scandal: Breaking Down Jon Gruden's Chances of Replacing Joe Paterno

Due to a sex scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, the Penn State football program is in hot water. This is something that will not only tarnish the image of the program, but also legendary head coach Joe Paterno.

We all knew this would probably force Paterno to step down, but it appears the University is already wasting no time. They are already working on him leaving the program as early as days to a few weeks.

Since it is now a given that he will step down, it's time to find the candidates that could replace him.

Ever since Jon Gruden went into the broadcast booth, he is automatically a candidate for any coaching job that opens up. Here are the chances he ends up replacing Joe Paterno.

Positives

Gruden has a proven track record, as he won 54 percent of his games through his 11 years of coaching in the NFL. That percentage may not be impressive, but when you consider he was coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders, it means a lot more.

He led the Buccaneers to their first and only Super Bowl Championship in 2002.

The main positive that would benefit Penn State is the name that he brings. Everybody knows who Jon Gruden is, and that alone would really help recruiting.

Besides losing a legendary coach, the main worry is that Penn State will lose a lot of their potential recruits to this scandal. If you hire Gruden, a lot of those recruits would be saved, and he'd be able to bring a lot more talented players to keep the winning tradition alive.

He'd bring new energy to this University and a pro style offense with a great offensive mind.

Negatives

Although Gruden has been a wide receivers coach and a graduate assistant at some colleges, he has never been a head coach of a college team. All of the things that come with coaching college football would be new to him. 

We've also seen several coaches that are great at the collegiate level or NFL but can't make the transition to one or the other. This isn't the NFL, and some of the things done at the professional level won't work in the Big Ten.

Which brings me to my main concern when talking about Gruden.

He is a furious competitor who hates losing more than he enjoys winning. If a player makes a mistake, he will let them know about it and use a bunch of expletives to describe how he's feeling. I'm not sure that will work in college football.

These aren't grown men that get paid to play the game; these are student athletes that just left their mom's house a year ago. Just look at Brian Kelly and the trouble he got into for cursing on the sidelines this season. 

Gruden will have to turn it down a few notches if he expects to last at Penn State.

Verdict

You really can't go wrong with a big name coach like Gruden to replace Paterno. He most importantly would be able to save the Nittany Lions recruiting and is a smart enough coach to be able to adapt to the college game.

But if I am Penn State, I am calling Urban Meyer first because he has experience and a proven track record at every college he's coached at. Meyer has won everywhere he has went, and it would be a much safer hire than Gruden. 

Although if this is their pick, you could see it working out. 

I just think with the situation that Penn State is in, they need a coach that could come in and clean house right away while putting W's on the board. They don't have time to wait and hope that the coach they hire will work out.

Urban Meyer is the safest hire, but Gruden isn't a bad second option.

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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