Penn State Scandal: Breaking Down Urban Meyer's Chances of Replacing Joe Paterno

The New York Times is reporting that it’s just a matter of time before Joe Paterno is out as head coach at Penn State. This following a scandal that broke this past weekend involving allegations of sexual abuse by one of Paterno’s former assistants, Jerry Sandusky.

The university canceled Paterno’s weekly press conference, which was supposed to take place this afternoon, and Paterno has yet to speak directly to the media about the Sandusky situation, although he did release a statement on Sunday.

The 84-year-old head coach has faced a public and media backlash for not responding properly to a report he received from a graduate assistant back in 2002. The report concerned an alleged sexual assault by Sandusky that took place in a shower at the football facilities.

Right now, there is no official word just yet regarding Paterno’s job status, but from everything we’ve been hearing, it certainly doesn’t sound good.

It makes you wonder who the university could possibly bring in to clean up this type of awful mess.

One name that had been floating around in recent weeks is former Florida coach Urban Meyer, who is likely going to be the hottest head-coaching candidate in the country this offseason.

It feels strange to speculate about who could possibly replace Paterno, since he’s been the face of Penn State for so many years, but given the circumstances, it’s fair to wonder about who will ultimately be given the duty of restoring the program’s credibility.

So, would Urban Meyer really be the right man for the job?

The Pros

Urban Meyer was not only one of the most successful college coaches of the last decade, he was also one of the most respected in the profession for the way he conducted himself and the way he worked his way up the ladder.

Meyer found success at each one of his three head-coaching stops. He turned Bowling Green into a contender in the MAC, then went to Utah and guided the Utes to the first ever BCS bowl game appearance by a non-AQ school, then proceeded to Florida where he won two national championships and bolstered his reputation as a top-tier college head coach.

Meyer’s head coaching resume, which includes two national titles, four conference championships and a 104-23 overall record, is supremely impressive, and the fact that Meyer avoided the type of major scandal that plagued other successful coaches like Pete Carroll and Jim Tressel, only makes it look better.

Meyer is a man who values character, and he’s got the type of personality that Penn State could use to help heal from this tragic scandal.

From a football standpoint, Meyer is an innovative offensive mind who has proven that he can have major success at the most competitive level of college football.

Meyer’s proven that he can recruit, motivate, lead and, most importantly, he's proven that he can win.

The Cons

One of the things Urban Meyer was accused of during his time at Florida was not having full control over the program, as numerous players were arrested during his tenure.

If you’re going to be the coach of Penn State after all that’s just transpired, one of the most important facets of the job is going to be possessing full control over the program, which is one of the only things that Meyer was criticized for.

Another concern about Meyer is his lingering health issues, which ultimately forced him to step away from coaching for a year.

The Nittany Lions need a leader that they can depend on and rely on for the foreseeable future, and it would be a major setback if Meyer becomes the coach and then leaves after only a year or two.

Is Urban Meyer the Right Coach for Penn State?

If Penn State does in fact clean house and Joe Paterno gets ousted, the university will need a strong, established leader to step in and stabilize the program, and school officials probably won’t be able to find a better coaching candidate than Urban Meyer to fill that role.

It’s going to be up to Meyer, though, to figure out if he’s healthy enough and mentally prepared to take over a program that’s just been rocked by a terrible scandal.

There have been reports and rumors that would lead you to believe that Meyer was interested in the Penn State job before all of this came out but, for now, we’re just going to have to wait and see how everything plays out with Joe Paterno first, and then take it from there.