How do you really measure a person's legacy? Is it apportioned by how many buildings are named after him or her? Is it the dollar figures on a ledger? Is it the amount of wins on a sheet or the quotes in a book? Of course not. Our personal legacies won't just be remembered for how many ridiculously long articles we put out on the internet or how many Red Bulls we drink in a day. When we talk about something such as legacy, it is about more than just numbers. Legacy is about the emotions evoked when we tell the story of a person. Legacy is the full narrative - both good and bad.

In the days following Joe Paterno's death, I have read multiple accounts of the late, great Joe Paterno. Paterno Ave had an excellent write-up here at OTE in which he gave us a great insight into what made Joe so great to so many at Penn State and abroad, "Joe Paterno will be remembered as an historically extraordinary man, the rare individual who stepped into our lives and made our community a family." Across the entire interweb and in every major newspaper near and far, accounts of JoePa's everyman greatness shined even though the lingering effects of a scandal hung over everything like a black cloud that was hard to describe.

Let me stop everyone ready to comment me to death about defaming the name of JoePa. This piece is not about the negatives or positives alone, but rather about the symbiosis between both. This is about how we need to look at the story of a man who was literally regarded with such great esteem that even in the midst of a scandal involving the rape of children, we could empathize with an old coach who might have made a grave mistake. This is looking at the story about Joe Paterno being larger than life and yet approachable at the same time. Legacies are cemented in the stories, and for us to really evaluate how we see Joe Paterno, it is important for everyone to consider the good, the bad, and everything in between. After all, we cannot understand a whole without understanding the pieces.

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When I started classes at Penn State as a freshman in 2002, I didn't "get it." I was prepared for the academics and even the social life. However, I was a New York Giants fan expecting the Nittany Lions to be essentially the same thing as my favorite pro team but right on campus. I didn't have family members who had attended Penn State, and so I assumed the coach of the football team was just that: a coach, responsible for winning football games.

In the Fall of 2002, the "Joe Must Go" movement was gaining steam. Over the next two and a half years it snowballed into a crisis. I was young and didn't know too many Penn State alumni, so for a while I was an advocate of a new coach. As far as I knew, that's just what you do after a couple losing seasons.

I didn't get college football in the beginning, I didn't get what the team meant to the university at Penn State, and I certainly didn't get how Joe Paterno fit into it all. I'm happy to say that by the time I graduated in 2006, though, I did "get it." Somewhere between seeing the football program at both its depths and its heights, and watching one man negotiate those turbulent times, I understood that Joe Paterno was a lot more than just a coach.

The Sandusky scandal has complicated his legacy, dashing an impeccable record. But Penn State fans don't need to remember him as an infallible legend. To us, Joe Paterno will be remembered as an historically extraordinary man, the rare individual who stepped into our lives and made our community a family.

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That. That isn't supposed to happen. Anywhere. Ever. But it did happen. Terrible things, things that shake your belief in mankind. Things...well, things that make strong men cry.

When the awful truth about what Jerry Sandusky allegedly did became public knowledge, college football was shaken to the core, and everything everyone ever knew about Penn State--success with honor--was knocked on its ear almost overnight. The PSU President and Athletic Director allegedly tried to cover it up and have been charged with perjury, Joe Paterno was (rightfully) fired in disgrace, Penn State students rioted in protest of Paterno's ouster, and Penn State now faces an uncertain future.

With the exception of two great pieces by Jon and Paterno Ave, we took a hands off approach to this here at OTE. The sexual assault allegations aren't about football, and quite frankly, there's not much to say in terms of what should happen if/when Jerry Sandusky is found guilty. I mean, everyone agrees he should spend the rest of his life in prison at a minimum, and at the time, football was so inconsequential in the grand scheme of things that it didn't matter what happened on the field in the immediate aftermath.

But now that we've moved past the initial shock and the alleged victims will have their day in court, the Sandusky scandal WILL have an affect on Penn State football, but to what degree? Should Penn State even be allowed to play football? The Nittany Lion fanbase and most reasonable people say yes, of course, and don't want the NCAA to pile on. The other extreme says no and screams for the death penalty, naturally. Most people think something in between, which is usually where a vast portion of the truth is.

So we came up with a Penn State potluck. We'll try and answer what JoePa's legacy will ultimately be, we'll talk Bill O'Brien, and we'll try and figure out what the long term impact to Penn State will be. We've also asked Black Shoe Diaries, the outstanding SB Nation Penn State blog, to participate, and BSD Grand Poobah Chris Grovich has given us some fantastic insight.

I gotta warn you, though--this is long. But it's worth it.

Appetizer— When the Sandusky news broke, Joe Paterno had a quote that is now famous--or infamous--depending on your perspective. He said ‘with the benefit of hindsight, I wish I’d done more.’ It later became known that Paterno sat on the information for 24 hours before he told Tim Curley, the PSU AD at the time. Compare that to the decades of philanthropy, of doing things the right way, and his record as college football’s all time winningest coach…what will JoePa’s legacy eventually be?

Bama Hawkeye: Legacy. You know when you realize what someone's legacy was? When you read the first sentence of their New York Times obituary. Now, I'm not hoping that this day comes soon, but when that day comes for JoePa, here's my crack at what the first sentence will be. "Joe Paterno, who during his 46 seasons as the head coach at Penn State University saw his teams win 409 games, more than any other coach in the history of the major college football, died yesterday at his home in State College, Pennsylvania at the age of XX." You notice what's missing. You won't see the name Jerry Sandusky. You won't see the word fired. Don't get me wrong. Those words will find their way into the obit - I fully expect JoePa's statement, "I wish I would have done more" to be included. However, it's not the lead any more than his generosity and philanthropy is the lead. Joe Paterno won more games as a college football coach than anyone else. That is the story. The rest will be secondary.

As for where he ranks among the greatest coaches, he'll always be discussed, but he'll never top the list. If you want a comparison, think of Don Shula in the NFL. Yes, he won more games than any other coach, but does anyone (aside from his sons) really think of him as the greatest coach in the league's history? I think JoePa compares favorably to Schembechler, Hayes, Osborne, Wilkinson, McKay, Bowden, Royal, and Switzer. I don't know that he'll be thought of as the equal of Bryant or Rockne. It almost turns into the Baseball Hall of Famer arguments: who is better, an outstanding compiler (Pete Rose/Joe Paterno), an elite player cut short too soon (Lou Gehrig/Knute Rockne), or someone who has seen his numbers surpassed, but was transcendent at the time (Babe Ruth/Bear Bryant). You're not taking anything away from their greatness to decide that someone is in third place on that list. And I guess that's where I'd put JoePa.

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As you know, Penn State recently hired Bill O'Brien to be the permanent head football coach. Acting AD Dave Joyner was very secretive about the whole process, and numerous names were rumored to be interested in the job, on the verge of being hired, or buying a house in State College. The fact that Joyner was able to keep the process secret was pretty impressive in the Social Media Age that we live in, but the intrepid investigative journalists** of Off Tackle Empire were able to, with late night phone calls, anonymous tips, dead drops, and hefty bribes***, find out exactly how the hiring process unfolded.****

**We're really not intrepid, except for maybe Hilary and Kennard Husker. And possibly Bama Hawkeye. Okay, we're all intrepid, except me. I'm just a jackass. But you knew that already. Oh, and none of us are investigative journalists.

***Actually, I just made all of this up. You knew that, but the Legal Department wanted that clearly stated up front.

****I have no idea how the process unfolded. And I would bet with the way this all unfolded, Dave Joyner didn't, either.

..so to avoid any further embarrassment, if that's even possible, hire a guy and be quick about it. Are you picking up what I'm throwing down?

Yes Mr. Commissioner. I understand.

You've got a shitstorm coming your way with this Sandusky trial, so hurry up, hire a coach, and do it with as little fanfare as possible.

Of course, Mr. Commissioner.
I HIGHLY recommend you conduct your search as efficiently as Illinois did. They should be your example--Tim Beckman is a well regarded coach, he took over a troubled program when he went to Toledo, and somebody like him would jump at an opportunity like this.

Really?

No, you dumb dick. Your college is a fuckin' dumpster fire and your school name is as toxic as an Amy Winehouse blood report. Your students rioted when you did the necessary thing and fired Paterno, for Chrissakes. I mean really dude, SERIOUSLY?!?! You'll be lucky to find a decent Junior High coach. Just get someone and be low key about it. If the NCAA decides to give you an investigative colonoscopy, you'll be lucky to play organized intramural flag football.

With all due respect, we are a destination program, and we can hire a big name guy. WE ARE...

Completely delusional and fucked in the head? Yeah, I'll buy that. Hire a goddamn coach. Shit's on fire, yo.

<click>...

I'll show him. I'll show them all!!

WOOOOOOOO!!!! WE'RE GETTIN' SABAN WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

..zzzzzzzzkktictictic....zzzzzzzzzktictictic...zzzzzzzzktictictic...

Holy Mother of God, just because our coach was north of 80 and didn't understand touch tone phones doesn't mean we can't have them. Gotta put this on the to do list.

We don't have the money. Need 'em for the lawyers. And the lawsuits. Gonna be LOTS of lawsuits.

So no new phone system?

Nope.

Well just how in the fuck are we going to pay top dollar--

Hello?

Uh, hi! Hello there, I'm Dave Joyner, and I'm the acting athletic director at Penn Sta--

AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...<click>

Hello? Hello?

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Just about every sports information outlet is going with Bill O'Brien to Penn State as a done deal. Just about every analyst is surprised at the hire, and just about every Penn State [internet] fan is furious. The criticism is based on two things: 1) he has almost no name recognition, and if he has any it is from a sideline argument with Tom Brady; 2) he has almost no track record of success at the college level, and his success at the pro level is easily disregarded because Charlie Weis had the same job and failed as a college HC (or Brady/Bellichick, take your pick).

Ladies and gentlemen: this was never the post-Paterno hire that we fantasized about for decades. Succeeding an icon is only the second most difficult thing the new PSU coach has to address. For the next two or three years the Sandusky cloud will continue to hang heavy over this program, and anyone who took this job had to be willing to become associated (to a degree) with it and be willing to try and overcome it in the minds of all his stakeholders.

But maybe, maybe, immediate name recognition and the off-season buzz it brings is not the most important thing for Penn State right now. A demonstrated record of a success at the college level would makes all feel a lot better, but I'm not ready to say that just because Charlie Weis and Eric Mangini failed after leaving the Patriots that this guy will.

Did I want the new hire to have those calm- and excitement-inducing bullet points on his resume? Of course. Do I want to know something about the hire, like maybe even what he looks like/voice sounds like? Yes. But there are some job requirements particular to this hire, following Paterno and the Scandal, that just might be more important and that people are forgetting while they reasonably respond react with immediate hysteria.

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EDIT: Annnnnnnd we can scratch Mike Munchak off the list. Move along, show's over. Nothing to see here.

Maybe at this point it would be easier to list who hasn't been rumored to be tied to the Penn State coaching vacancy. We've seen everyone from Georgia's Mark Richt, Chris Petersen of BSU, Oregon's Chip Kelly, and a crazy Internet rumor about Kirk Ferentz moving to Happy Valley with Bob Stoops backfilling Iowa City. And of course, the fringe lunatic wing of the fanbase assumes that Nick Saban/Les Miles/Pete Carroll/Urban Meyer is in the middle of buying a house in State College.

Well, I guess until someone is actually named the coach by the University, they're all crazy Internet rumors. But this most lastest one seems to make the most sense, and it's being reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mike Munchak.

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EDIT: Tweets from Danny Sheridan and Sports By Brooks are reporting that Chryst to Pitt is official. And by God sports reporter Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

With the hiring of Tim Beckman at Illinois, there is only one vacancy remaining to be filled in The Greatest Conference Ever In The History Of The World Ever And Ever, and that's at Penn State.

We'll get to them in a minute, but let's update the Pitt job, where we mentioned here a couple-ish days ago that two prominent B1G assistant coaches were in the running for that job.

It looked like Mario Cristobal was the front runner for a couple days, who I was surprised to learn was NOT Pat Fitzgerald wearing a fake goatee in disguise, but he might not be the favorite anymore.

According to this phenomenal timeline, courtesy of SBN's Wisconsin blog Bucky's 5th Quarter, Fickell was officially eliminated as a candidate AT PRECISELY 2:50...and for the love of God B5Q, next time can you tell me if that's Eastern or Central time? I mean seriously, you're really slacking here guys...//sarcasm off.

And at 5:19...not 5:18, not 5:20, 5:19, Wisconsin OC Paul Chryst emerged as the leading candidate, and what happens to Chryst will go a long way in determining where Dane Crist, Notre Dame QB of the future who never really panned out, ends up.

We continue with Penn State, after the jump.

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Hmmmmmmm.....

Hearing strong info that Mark Richt may be emerging as a serious candidate for the Penn State job.

— Sekrah Sports (@sekrah) December 15, 2011

I'll admit that up until a week ago I had never heard of this Sekrah Sports, and I'm not sure how accurate this guy/gal/anonymous Twitter account is, but I will say Sekrah was right about one thing, and had it about 24 hours before everyone else, as I recall.

When former 4 star recruit and Penn State commit DT Tommy Schutt said he was going to re-open his recruitment and visit Ohio State, Sekrah called Schutt to OSU long before it was made official.

I am ALL ABOUT wild Internet speculation, and if there is any truth to this rumor, all I can say is 'well done, PSU'. Dan Mullen had been rumored earlier this month, but signed an extension to stay at Mississippi State, and quite frankly, the coaching search at Happy Valley seems to have been stuck in low gear since then.

Richt seemed to be on the hot seat last year, as Georgia floundered to 8-5 in 2010, 6-7 last year, and opened up 0-2 this season. But Richt righted the ship and the Bulldogs ripped off 10 straight wins and won the SEC East, and became the sacrifical lamb to LSU in the SEC Championship game.

It's also being bandied about that Richt is reaching out to PSU, which would be...odd. He has no ties to the school, has spent almost his entire coaching career in the South, and although he's from Nebraska, that was pre-B1G days, so he has no real ties to the conference. That said, PSU is still a plum job, he has been at Georgia since 2001, and Sandusky scandal/JoePa firing aside, it's a place that a lot of people would give a right arm to coach at.

This would be a home run for Happy Valley if it comes to fruition.

Discuss.