There will never be another coaching career like Joe Paterno's.
His time at Penn State started long before coaches were pulling down multimillion dollar salaries, before fire so-and-so.com websites and win-now-or-else attitudes at programs that have rarely contended for championships.No Division I coach won more games (409) or had a longer run at one school than Paterno.It's hard to fathom a coach staying at a power program such as Penn State for even 20 years these days, let alone the 46 seasons Paterno led the Nittany Lions.Coaches who come to define not just a team but a school, Hall of Famers such as Bear Bryant, Tom Osborne, Bo Schembechler, Bobby Bowden and Paterno, seem to be going the way of the wishbone and tear-away jerseys in college football."Look what's happening," Bowden said Sunday, hours after Paterno died at the age of 85. "Coaches getting fired in two years. Coaches making a million dollars here and they get $2 million and they leave. They break a five-year contract. You've got unloyalty at both ends."The 82-year-old Bowden was nudged into retirement two years ago after 34 seasons at Florida State. Paterno was fired in November after his former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, was charged with sexually abusing children.With Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger's retirement at age 77, Kansas State's 72-year-old Bill Snyder is the oldest active coach in major college football.Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer, 65, who has been at the school since 1987, is now the longest-tenured coach in Division I football. The next-longest continuous tenure among current coaches belongs to 60-year-old Mack Brown, who has been at Texas since 1998.Even elite top-notch programs get used as steppingstones these days.Alabama's Nick Saban left Michigan State for LSU, where he won a national title in 2003. He then bailed on the Tigers for the Miami Dolphins before landing at Alabama and winning two national championships for the Tide in five seasons."Coaches are making so much money that if they're successful they can retire early in life and if they're not successful the school is going to get rid of them real quick," Bowden said. "It's not likely we're going to see anybody last as long as Joe and myself."What they're saying ...
Reactions to the death of Penn State coach Joe Paterno:
"History will say that he's one of the greatest. ... He probably means the same thing up there that Bear Bryant meant down here. He's an icon." Retired Florida State coach Bobby Bowden
"College football will be left with a major void because he has done so much for our game and for Penn State. It's a very sad day, and with his passing, we have lost one of the greatest coaches our game, and all sports, will ever have. He leaves us with great stories, memories and records that may never be broken. There will never be another Joe Paterno."
Texas coach Mack Brown
"I hate it that this happens for Joe, to end like this. It is sad and tragic. There's no winners here." Former Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer
"Joe was very honest. He was a heck of a coach, and he was one of the outstanding coaches of all time. He meant a lot to the game, and he meant a lot to me. He was a solid person, and a solid friend." Former Texas coach Darrell Royal
"Coach Paterno had a great impact on my life, not only as a player, but as a person. He coached with an incredible amount of passion and integrity, and I am very proud to have played for one of the greatest coaches in sports. My prayers go out to him and his family." Dallas Cowboys and former Penn State linebacker Sean Lee
"You could have become a good football player at many places but you wouldn't have become the man you are if you didn't go to Penn State." Former Penn State running back Mike Guman
"We came to Penn State as young kids and when we left there we were men and the reason for that was Joe Paterno." Lydell Mitchell, a star running back at Penn State from 1968-72
"It's just sad because I think he died from other things than lung cancer. I don't think that the Penn State that he helped us to become and all the principles and values and things that he taught were carried out in the handling of his situation." Mickey Shuler, a Penn State tight end from 1975 to 1977
"When you think of college football and its tradition, you can't help but picture those dark glasses, black shoes and plain uniforms that were his style and mark on Penn State." Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville
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