Penn State Scandal: Why School Cannot Keep Tom Bradley

The Penn State scandal gave college football the end of the Joe Paterno era, and while interim head coach Tom Bradley has done a good job handling the media, he should not be the head coach in 2012 and beyond for the Nittany Lions. 

Bradley, who was the defensive coordinator at Penn State for the last decade, may not be directly involved to the scandal, but he was there when everything was happening and that's why he has to go.

The former Penn State defensive back in the late 1970's is a nice, well-liked man, but he isn't the right guy for the Nittany Lions moving forward. 

Penn State has to clean house, start fresh and begin working on restoring its image. It's unfortunate for Bradley, but this must be done. 

If the Nittany Lions kept Bradley, it wouldn't end well, as he would serve as a constant reminder of the downfall at Penn State.

While its unknown if Bradley knew anything about Jerry Sandusky and the alleged crimes against the former Nittany Lions coach, Bradley cannot be at Penn State after this season because the question about whether or not he did know anything will always come up. 

Seeing Bradley as Penn State's coach for the next season or longer would make people remember what happened, and that is something the Nittany Lions don't need. 

Mitch Carr, a TV news reporter, was very observant in Bradley's press conferences, and he tweeted his thoughts about the interim head coach. 

Perhaps Bradley knows his time as the Nittany Lions coach will be short lived. Even if he isn't thinking about that, these are very hard times and Bradley is a tough position, so it's completely understandable that he looks devastated all the time. 

This is certainly not the way Bradley envisioned becoming the head coach at Penn State. 

Sports by Brooks tweeted what he has learned about Bradley's future. 

Whether that's true or not remains to be seen, but the fact that it's out there definitely stirs the pot. It could be false information, but if Brooks happens to be right then Bradley isn't in the wrong.

You can't blame Bradley for wanting to look to the future because of his current situation. Life isn't easy for him, and the smart decision is to start looking ahead.

The Nittany Lions need to begin a new chapter, and that means Bradley will be done after this season. There could have been a case made for Bradley if Penn State won out for the rest of the season, but that went out the window with the loss to Nebraska.

Hiring a new coach from outside of the program for 2012 and beyond is the way to go, as Penn State has to start anew in hopes to rid itself of all the criticism in light of this scandal.