Joe Pa Dead At 85

As a graduate of Brown University, I feel a distant connection to Joe Paterno to know that he also attended the same college in Providence, RI. His passing ends a turbulent few months that rocked his legacy at Penn State.

Joe Pa instilled the concept of team in his players. No individual names on the back of uniforms. He actually took an interest in seeing his players graduate. Paterno's graduation rate for players was over 90%, a rate unheard of by other major football powers.

However, a living person that has his statue in front of the football stadium can be elevated too high. He was not God. He was just a man with failings like all of us. Did he continue coaching too long? Maybe. Did he overlook player behaviors in his later years that would have effected his team? Probably. Did his program become isolated & insulated from pressures from the administration? Yes. A football program than brings in revenue of over $10 million a year develops its own set of problems to deal with. Money remains the root of all evil. Just look at politics.

Joe Pa was human & perhaps he read his own press clippings for too long. But let's remember the good that he did over his tenure at Penn State, not just his takedown by Jerry Sandusky over past few months.