Joe Paterno Firing: Why Penn State Needs to Do Much, Much More

Effective immediately, the Board of Trustees at Penn State have decided to fire long-time head football coach Joe Paterno, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In the midst of arguably the worst college football scandal in history, Joe Paterno has become the latest casualty of the recent sexual abuse charges filed against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Lately, the focus has shifted from Sandusky to Paterno, with many people wondering why Paterno failed to alert the authorities after reporting what he knew to the athletic director and nothing happened to Sandusky. And with all of the pressure that Paterno was facing under the weight of all of these questions, the rest of his final season has been taken away from him, along with his job.

The Board of Trustees will face a great deal of criticism for firing Paterno, one of the most revered coaches in college football, after setting the all-time wins record and coaching at Penn State since 1966. However, the decision by them was well-merited. It simply was something that had to be done and the sooner Paterno left Penn State, the quicker Penn State could start the rebuilding process of its image as a university and a football program.

Whether people like it or not, the presence of Paterno in that locker room would be a constant reminder for everyone of the serious crimes that took place in that program throughout the last decade. Paterno did what he was supposed to do. He reported to his immediate superiors: the AD and President of the university. However, it was what Paterno didn't do that got him in so much trouble. His inability to report what he knew of Sandusky to the authorities essentially cost him his job and his legacy as a college football icon.

Now the Board of Trustees need to continue to take action in order to begin the rebuilding process as soon as possible. I believe an entire overhaul of the coaching staff would be a possible step for the university once the season concludes.

I understand that not every single coach on that staff was involved or had prior knowledge of this incident, but the bringing in of an entire new coaching staff would symbolize a new start for the program as they try to rebuild their image. 

An additional action the university could take would be to self-impose a postseason ban this season for the football team. This may seem a little out there and unnecessary, but with the situation that the university is in right now, going over the top won't seem like enough. 

In the grand scheme of things, nothing the university does throughout the rest of this scandal will be able to repair the serious damage that has been done to Penn State's image. The effects of this scandal will be felt in every aspect of campus, such as attendance, athletics and endowment, among others. The rebuilding process could take several decades, but it is imperative that Penn State continues to make drastic changes and act swiftly in order to retain some of their dignity.