Will Schiano replace JoPa? From Stewart Mandell on SI.com

[IncrediBULL]

There have been a lot of rumors floating around that Rutgers' Greg Schiano will become Joe Paterno's successor as early as the 2009 season. Why are the Penn State faithful so delusional? They say Penn State has more history than Rutgers. Well, Michigan has more history than Penn State and he turned that job down. They say Schiano has strong ties to Penn State. Well, he has strong ties to Miami and he turned that job down, too. Why do these people think that Penn State is more attractive than Rutgers? This is not the 1980s.

--Ryan, Schuylkill County, Pa.

Allow me to count the reasons:

1) Schiano spent six seasons at Penn State learning from Joe Paterno during the early, formative stages of his career, as opposed to two seasons at Miami under Butch Davis following a stint in the NFL. Which do you think he has stronger ties to?

2) At Penn State, Schiano would likely be able to maintain his hold on New Jersey talent while also tapping into the far-richer Ohio and Pennsylvania pools. He would likely help restore the school's national cachet as well.

3) In 2006, Rutgers went 10-2 and wound up in the Texas Bowl. The same result at Penn State gets you an invite to a BCS game. Last season, the Scarlet Knights went 7-5 and ended their season in Toronto. At Penn State, 7-5 still earns you a trip to Orlando.

4) Most importantly: Penn State can likely afford to pay Schiano nearly triple what Rutgers does (especially with all the money it's saved by not having to pay Joe Paterno market value these past 40 years).

That may sound overly cynical -- but only if you haven't been following the coaching world these past few years. I don't doubt Schiano has been sincere in his oft-professed loyalty to his home-state school. Obviously, he demonstrated that pretty soundly by turning down Miami and Michigan. But Miami is also a mess, as he well knew. And a well-informed source told me after the fact that Schiano got serious cold feet after turning down the Wolverines and tried unsuccessfully at the 11th hour to get himself back in the running.

It's only speculation at this point whether Penn State will even offer Schiano the job -- much will depend on how much clout, if any, Paterno will hold in the selection of his replacement. If the opportunity does arise, however, I would be stunned if he isn't on the first flight to State College.

[Bullschmutz]

Yep.

[Carolina_Bull]

Recently, Rutgers has damaged PSU recruiting (and obliterated Syracuse's recruiting).  For PSU, it makes sense to get Schiano on their side.

[snarling Bull]

Schiano s**cks, he's not good enough for Penn State.

[Jamie]

I'll help that ***** pack his bags.

[Jihme]

hopefully he doesn't leave until after we beat them a few years in a row starting in 08!

[crambone]

I'll help that ***** pack his bags.

+1

[Ricky the Bull]

I'm not sure why one would think Rutgers' demise would be to our benefit.  The BEAST needs quality teams and coaches to increase BCS clout.  Having Schiano leave and perhaps cause Rutgers to fade back into mediocrity would not be a good thing.

[BaltoBull]

I'm not sure why one would think Rutgers' demise would be to our benefit.  The BEAST needs quality teams and coaches to increase BCS clout.  Having Schiano leave and perhaps cause Rutgers to fade back into mediocrity would not be a good thing.

Agreed. Good point, Ricky.

[Bull Martin]

Schiano is gone as soon as JoPa retires.

He didn't go anywhere else because he's waiting for Penn State to call.  Why go to UM or Michigan (UM?) for a year?  He'd inherit bad teams and could lose some of his luster.  He'll be fine and continue to look good at Rutgers for a few more years.