Mike McQueary: Why McQueary's Days as a Coach Are Finished

Of all the people talked about in the Jerry Sandusky scandal, Mike McQueary might be the most important person in the whole thing, because, according to grand jury testimony, he saw Sandusky sexually assault a boy in 2002.

McQueary, who was a graduate assistant with the team, told Penn State head coach Joe Paterno what he saw, and everything has snowballed on the university based on this information.

If McQueary and/or Paterno had decided to alert the authorities instead of just going to school officials, we would not be talking about the end of Paterno as a head coach, and McQueary would still maintain his sterling reputation.

Since neither man reported anything to the authorities, they don’t deserve to keep their jobs. McQueary, in particular, had an obligation because he actually saw what was going on. He had more reason to report it than anyone, and he did not.

In a report on ESPN.com, McQueary has a clear recollection of what happened and what he saw, so the fact that he did not tell anyone outside of school officials is disturbing.

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McQueary told Paterno about the incident the next day, and the coach notified Curley and Schultz, who in turn notified Spanier. Curley and Schultz have been charged with perjury and failure to report the incident to authorities, as required by state law.

Both men, as well as Paterno, testified that they were told that Sandusky behaved inappropriately in that 2002 incident, but not to the extent of the grad assistant's graphic account to a state grand jury.  

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When you have the information that McQueary testified to knowing and you don’t tell anyone but the head coach of a football team, there is big problem with that.

Paterno has lost his job—excuse me, "retired"—as a result of this situation, but McQueary’s failure to do more considering the eyewitness information he had should have gotten him fired as soon as this scandal broke, if not sooner.

Penn State has to gut its football program now because no one associated with the team during this incident should keep their jobs, and on the firing list, McQueary’s name should be numero uno.

By all accounts, McQueary is a good person and does his job really well. But his negligence in this case and silence for the last nine years is beyond comprehension. There is no excuse for it, and there is nothing that he can do or say to fix it.

The end has to be near for McQueary as a coach at Penn State University because of his actions in this whole sticky situation.