Joe Paterno Penn State Scandal: How 10 Coaches Fared Replacing Legends

Coaching is a hard enough job in sports as it is. You either get results and put up victories quickly or there's a good chance you won't be around very long. It's even tougher when you're replacing a legendary coach who has either won multiple championships or has just been at a university for decades because his consistency is unmatched.

With the scandal that is going on in Penn State, there is going to be a coach that is going to replace head coach Joe Paterno, who said earlier today that he will retire at the end of the season.. No pressure or anything, he's only won 409 games, which is the most Division 1 wins of all-time, and has the most bowl victories with 24.

Let's look back and see how 10 other coaches have fared when they have had to replace a legendary coach.

Ray Perkins Replaces Bear Bryant at Alabama

Bear Bryant coached Alabama from 1958-1982 and racked up 232 wins in that time span. He reached 24 consecutive bowl games, six national championships and 14 SEC championships. He is an iconic figure and many consider him to be the greatest college football coach ever.

He retired after the 1982 season and died a short time later.

Ray Perkins replaced him and led the Tide to a 32-15-1 record and three bowl victories. He is also credited with becoming the first Alabama head coach to beat Notre Dame.

Although controversy with boosters and Alabama alumni turned the heat up on Perkins. After the 1986 season he accepted a contract to go on and coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Frank Solich Replaces Tom Osborne at Nebraska

Tom Osborne coached Nebraska from 1973-1997 and won 255 games and only lost 49. He made a bowl game every season as a head coach and led the Cornhuskers to three national championships. He also won 13 conference championships and was Coach of the Year as well as Coach of the Decade.

He is seventh all-time on the career wins list.

Although, after the 1997 championship season Osborne retired and the coaching job was passed down to Frank Solich.

Solich spent six seasons as Nebraska's coach and went 58-19 in that time. He won two bowl games and was largely responsible for Eric Crouch's Heisman season in 2001.

He won the Coach of the Year award twice but may be remembered for winning the Big 12 only once and his 1-9 record on the road against ranked teams.

Jimbo Fisher Replaces Bobby Bowden at Florida State

Bobby Bowden is responsible for turning Florida State into the national powerhouse they are today. He took over the Seminoles in 1976 and didn't step down until 2009. He is second all-time in career wins and led the Seminoles to a 304-97 record. 

He won 12 ACC championships and two national championships. Bowden only had one losing season his entire time at Florida State and from 1987-2000 his teams finished with at least 10 victories.

In 2010 he was replaced by Jimbo Fisher who was a offensive coordinator for the university and a "coach in waiting."

So far in one-and-a-half seasons, Fisher has brought in top recruiting classes and has a 16-7 record.

It's still very early to judge how Fisher has replaced Bowden, but it looks like the Seminoles are in good hands.

Earle Bruce Replaces Woody Hayes at Ohio State

Hayes coached the Buckeyes from 1951-1978 and totaled 205 wins in that time and won three national championships. He also won 13 Big Ten titles and won the Big Ten Coach of the Year award twice.

Although he has great numbers, he was also known for his strict coaching style and conducting locker room interviews naked after a loss. He was fired in 1978 after striking a player during the Gator Bowl.

Earle Bruce replaced Hayes and finished with a 81-26-1 record before being fired in 1987. His victory over Michigan in that year was the last time the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines until 2001 when Jim Tressel took over.

Gary Gibbs Replaces Barry Switzer at Oklahoma

Switzer coached the Sooners for 16 years and won three national championships and 12 conference championships. His Big 8 conference record of 100-11-1 is just remarkable and his 83 percent winning percentage isn't too shabby either.

Oklahoma was involved in several scandals under Switzer's watch and in 1989 he decided to resign.

Gary Gibbs replaced Switzer in 1989 and coached until 1994, finishing with a 44-23 record. Gibbs was shorthanded due to the scandals and not being able to play in bowl games, and he will forever be known for not being able to win the big games. 

He finished with a 2-15-1 record against Texas, Colorado and Nebraska.

Gibbs resigned in 1994.

Gary Moeller Replaces Bo Schembechler at Michigan

Schembechler was never able to win a national championship but he did lead the Wolverines to 13 Big Ten titles and had them in the Top 10, 16 times. He finished his Michigan career with a 194-48-5 record and won the Big Ten Coach of the Year award six times.

He retired in 1990 after suffering from heart problems and picked his offensive coordinator Gary Moeller to take over the coaching duties.

Moeller coached the Wolverines for six years and went 44-13-3 and won five bowl games. In 1995 he left Michigan and went to become a tight ends coach for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Bob Davie Replaces Lou Holtz at Notre Dame

Lou Holtz finished his 11-year career at Notre Dame with a 100-30-2 record and won a national championship at just his third year at the University with a perfect 12-0 season. He made a bowl game nine times and won five of them. 

Holtz was one of the most successful coaches at Notre Dame but decided to step down in 1996. Later the NCAA found out that Notre Dame players accepted extra benefits, and although Holtz knew about it, he didn't take action.

In 1997 Bob Davie took over and in five years he had a 35-25 record. He didn't win one bowl game and the performances on the field were very inconsistent.

Davie was fired in 2001.

Lane Kiffin Replaces Pete Carroll at USC

I know Pete Carroll's legacy will forever be tarnished following the Reggie Bush scandal, but he did have a 97-19 record at USC and won two national championships. He is probably the greatest coach in the BCS era.

He made bowl games 10 times in 10 seasons and won nine of them.

Once it was announced that Carroll and USC broke NCAA rules, Carroll left for the Seattle Seahawks leaving Lane Kiffin to take over.

Kiffin is currently in his second season with the Trojans and is 15-7. It's too early to judge how well of a job he's done because he is only in his second season and is shorthanded due to USC being on probation.

Ray Goff Replaces Vince Dooley at Georgia

Vince Dooley coached the Bulldogs for 25 seasons and led them to six conference championships and a national championship in 1980. He finished with a 201-77-10 record and won eight bowl games.

After the 1988 season, Dooley became the athletics director for the Bulldogs to help build what Georgia is today.

Dooley was replaced with head coach Ray Goff in 1989 and he struggled throughout his seven years at the university. He finished with a 46-34-1 record and only won double digit games once. Due to the subpar performances, he was fired in 1995.

Ron Zook Replaces Steve Spurrier at Florida

Spurrier helped make the Florida Gators the football program they are today, as he coached them for 12 seasons. In that time he won a national championship, averaged 10 wins per season and won the SEC six times.

He later left in 2002 to become the head coach of the Washington Redskins.

Ron Zook later took over but his stay only lasted three seasons, as his 23-14 record simply wasn't good enough. He was a great recruiter but not winning one bowl game and inconsistent play forced Zook to take a job at Illinois.

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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