Penn State Scandal: Tom Bradley Another Terrible Move by University

Joe Paterno was fired as head football coach of Penn State University yesterday and subsequently replaced by one of his former players, Tom Bradley.

Bradley has been with the program since 1977, when he played defensive back for the Nittany Lions on a team that went 11-1 in back-to-back seasons.

He was then a graduate assistant before becoming a full-time assistant on the defensive side of the ball under former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Ironically enough, it is Sandusky who caused this implosion of the Penn State football program (and cost Paterno his job) after being charged with sexually assaulting boys for almost two decades.

Things at State College have hit an all-time low. With Paterno out, the university had no choice but to name an interim replacement for the remaining three-to-five games of the year.

Bradley addressed the media for the first time today and the general consensus thought he spoke admirably.

CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd tweeted:

And while many echo this feeling and believe he spoke well, the university is doing itself no favors.

Bradley, regardless of what he says, has been a Paterno disciple from the very beginning.

It would certainly be unfair to throw him under the bus by invoking "guilty by association" but the university has put itself in an even tougher spot.

Bradley himself said he takes over with "mixed emotions." He also said the players are "in shock."

And why shouldn't they be? They're 8-1 on the year with a chance at a Big Ten championship and possible BCS bowl berth and are dealing with one of the most layered and incomprehensible scandals of our time.

The biggest problem with Bradley is that he is an extension of Paterno himself at this juncture. The outcry for Joe Pa to be fired or to step down was too great to keep him around, but the university is taking a gamble by placing someone so close to the legendary coach in charge.

Should any news break that Bradley knows anything having to do with the Sandusky case in years past, it will cause more irreparable damage to a program well on its way to imploding.

This is a risk the university didn't necessarily have to take.

It's already doomed what was a stellar season with its inability to act and prepare for this situation, and now it's just putting itself even further in harms way with a coach who could know more than he's saying.

And there is no forgetting his "mixed emotions" statement. He's undoubtedly a Paterno man through and through.

Bradley may be a great coach and this has virtually little to nothing to do with him. But the university continues to make mistakes and take risks where it simply cannot afford to anymore.