The Nittany Turkey

I’ve been doing the three things I said I wouldn’t do as the off-season rolled around: dwelling on the Pryor recruitment morass, documenting off-field legal incidents, and speculating about the future of the head coaching position at Penn State. Call me a hypocrite, a liar, whatever. I answer to those names. Anyhow, with Pryor safely committed to tOSU and off-field incidents now just expected background noise, my attention has turned to the Paterno situation.

In this morning’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Ron Musselman wrote an overblown piece about that very issue, with the trigger being the PSU Board of Trustees meeting today and tomorrow at Washington DC’s historic Mayflower Hotel. All Musselman needed to sell some newspapers was the following quote from an anonymous trustee: “It’ll definitely be on the menu.” So, we’ll just leave it with the facts. There’s a Board of Trustees meeting today and tomorrow. If you want vacuously embellished fluff, read Musselman’s piece.

So, you wonder why I opt for the distraction of American Idol with all this great stuff going on? Yeah, right, even the mindless American Idol is more entertaining than jumping to conclusions every time Curley or Spanier farts! Too bad Musselman doesn’t have that option.

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LaschOut.com is reporting that their sources revealed that ex-Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, presently working in broadcasting, paid an overnight visit to Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley on February 24 and 25. It was a sleepover, and they’re both known to be straight, so speculation (and wishful thinking) abounds on the purpose of the visit to PSU.

Some of the speculation is being defused by the notion that perhaps Cowher was there in connection with his daughter Lindsey’s basketball aspirations. Penn State is one of the schools she is seriously considering. However, some are pooh-poohing that by noting that such a visit might be a violation of recruiting rules. Of course, all these speculations and counter-speculations are being proffered by fans who pull things out of their ass.

Well, what if—what if Cowher was there to talk about the Nittany Lion head coaching job? What if?

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The University of Michigan’s sports machine announced today that current West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez had accepted its offer to be the head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. As I do not play the charade by which some of my fellow bloggers abide, namely paraphrasing news and presenting it as original content, I’ll point you to ESPN.com for details.

And now, for the opinion part of this article. Rich Rodriguez is a good coach. That’s what this Turkey thinks. The Wolverines have made a good move. I think they’ll forget about Les Miles and Greg Schiano in a hurry. Whether Rodriguez’ coaching style will suit the Big Ten is moot. You cannot hire a head coach and then command him to “play Big Ten football.” If the CEO of your industry group leading corporate football enterprise cannot move the market, don’t hire the wimp. You want a guy who can shake things up, who can be on the leading edge of innovation. So, perhaps Rodriguez will be the catalyst necessary to initiate the transformation of the Big Ten from a primordial power football league into a sleek, modern, junior NFL. Change is good. Status quo is boring. Go Rick!

How will this move affect Penn State? Who knows. The Nittany Lions couldn’t beat Michigan with Carr at the helm and they certainly won’t be able to beat the Wolverines with Rodriguez running the show. Well, at least not until the PSU offense is updated and the oft mentioned coaching issues are resolved. The ripple effect created by Rodriguez’ hiring might be significant to Penn State, however, inasmuch as one current rumor has West Virginia University offering the head football coaching job vacated by Rodriguez to none other than Penn State’s own defensive coordinator, Tom Bradley, whose name crops up in the rumor mill quite frequently.

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The Newark Star-Ledger reported today that Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano has turned down the prestigious head coaching job at the University of Michigan. Schiano had previously nixed a $2.2 million offer to be the head coach at the University of Miami (Florida). His current job at Rutgers pays $1.7 million.

Michigan is no doubt shocked that Schiano would shun their vaunted program. However, the bigger story from the Penn State angle is whether the ex-Penn Stater is hanging around waiting for the inevitable Paterno retirement.

Rutgers is a fine program, which has advanced significantly under Schiano, but one has to wonder whether Schiano knows something we don’t know about the Penn State job. After all, a $500,000 raise is nothing to sneeze at. Turning it down has to mean there is something big in the offing. If it wasn’t the Miami job or the Michigan job, then what? Has Schiano been tipped off by the powers that be that Paterno will not be accorded the opportunity to realize his previously stated aim of coaching “another 3, 4, 5 years” after his current contract expires following the 2008 season? If not, why would Schiano not pick the immediately available cherries.

Of course, this cynical Turkey further wonders what kind of a salary the Board of Trustees would be willing to offer Schiano, were he to actually contend for the presently nonexistent Penn State head coaching opening, given that its present occupant is earning barely more than $500,000.