Joe Paterno Fired: Potential Successors Will Be Irked by Phone Call Dismissal

The Penn State board of trustees axing Joe Paterno via telephone is yet another cowardly display by the university. Though the school had no choice but to clean house, Paterno is a legend and deserved far better than a phone call firing.

The manner in which he was fired is going to even further deter high-profile suitors who have been tabbed as potential successors.

Some will argue that it was an absolute zoo at Paterno's house and meeting him there would have created chaos. Why not lure him out of his home and meet somewhere off campus?

He coached there for over 60 years. The decision to clean house was necessary, but not even having the decency to have a face-to-face conversation with JoePa is unacceptable.

Penn State was intent on not letting him speak at his press conference, allowed him to be the scapegoat and become the face of this scandal and then booted him out the door in such a disrespectful and impersonal manner that potential coaches are going to take notice.

It's going to take a guy like Urban Meyer with a huge name and an overpowering persona for people to accept that the school has indeed taken steps to move on from the scandal.

They are going to have a hard enough time as it is landing a coach worth mentioning, given the state of the program. Their inability to give JoePa a proper farewell makes it even worse.

The board made the right decision, but executed miserably. Just when it seems like the Penn State job couldn't get any less appealing, the university outdoes themselves.