Joe Paterno Fired: Why Greg Schiano Will Bolt from Rutgers and Save Penn State

Greg Schiano didn't just turn around the Rutgers football program; he saved it from oblivion.

Penn State won't soon be forgotten, but it's in terrible danger of seeing its program implode.

At 84 years old, legendary coach Joe Paterno wasn't the man to fix the program.

In fact, he spent the past 46 years building it the only way he knew how. But, his time came to a crashing halt because of the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal.

Now, Penn State needs Greg Schiano.

The former Penn State graduate assistant and defensive backs coach took over the Scarlet Knights program in 2001.

In the years prior, Rutgers was the laughing stock of the Big East under Terry Shea. The coach won 11 games in five years, including a winless season in 1997 and a one-win season in 1999.

In the 2006 season alone, Schiano won the same number of games as Shea had won in his entire tenure.

Schiano didn't do it without growing pains, though. He won only three games in his first two seasons with many players Shea recruited. By the time Schiano got the chance to get his players involved, in 2005, Rutgers went to its first bowl game in 27 years.

Needless to say, Greg Schiano knows how to make something out of nothing.

Penn State won't be "nothing" once the eradication of the current administration and staff is complete, but it will be at its lowest point in more than 50 years.

Why would Schiano want to leave after all he's created in Piscataway, New Jersey?

Well, that is certainly part of it; he's in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Schiano has ties to both Penn State and Miami, two of the most prominent programs in all the land. Every time talk of a coaching change comes up for either of those schools, his name is brought to the forefront.

But, he hasn't left yet and often cites his desire to "finish what he started" with Rutgers.

Things are crashing down in the Big East, though. West Virginia is set to leave for the Big 12, TCU isn't going through with its move to the Big East and Louisville could force its way out of the conference as well.

Conference expansion/realignment is an uncontrollable monster at this point.

But, not in the Big Ten. It already expanded to 12 teams a year ago with the inclusion of Nebraska.

While the SEC, Big 12 and Big East are all heavily impacted by conference realignment, the Big Ten and Pac-12 are not.

At least, not for the moment.

This is something that cannot be ignored in Schiano's case.

Along with his ties to Penn State, confidence in his ability to handle any situation and the potential for a new and daunting challenge, he would find safety in coaching in the Big Ten as opposed to the Big East.

As big of a name as Schiano has become in his revitalization of the Scarlet Knights program, there is no denying the allure of coaching in Beaver Stadium.

Regardless of the current black cloud set to hang over Penn State for the foreseeable future, Penn State's name still holds a different stature than that of Rutgers.

When all is said and done and the new Penn State administration and athletic director set out to find a football coach capable of handling the rigors of revitalizing a program doomed to shame, they won't have to look very far.

Schiano has always been mindful of Paterno's place in Happy Valley. With the legendary coach now finished at State College, he has nothing to truly hold him back.

Don't be shocked if and when Greg Schiano is the first person Penn State calls.