TAMPA, Fla. — It was a who’s who of Penn State legacies and history on Wednesday upon entering the ballroom inside the Tampa Convention Center.
To the right sat Stefen Wisniewski, the all-everything right guard-turned-center-turned-right guard, son of former Penn State and Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts player Leo, nephew of former Penn State and Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders player Steve.
A few feet from Wisniewski sat linebacker Michael Mauti, son of former Penn State and New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins wide receiver Rich, brother of former Penn State wideout Pat.
Across from Mauti stood Galen Hall, offensive coordinator since 2004, quarterback of Penn State’s first-ever bowl victory, former head coach of Florida — the Nittany Lions’ opponent in Saturday’s Outback Bowl.
With Penn State, seemingly, some things never change. Although it has come close lately.
RETIRING FROM FLORIDA
The Gators, now that’s a different story.
Florida is in the midst of a transition that begins at the very top.
Urban Meyer, who coached Florida to two national titles, announced Dec. 8 that the bowl game Saturday will be his last. Will Muschamp, hired to replace Meyer three days later, observed the team in Gainesville and is expected to be here later in the week for the New Year’s Day game.
Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio was hired as Temple’s head coach Dec. 23.
And defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was released from the hospital Tuesday night after being diagnosed with gastritis.
“I should tell you guys a story about Teryl,” Tom Bradley began to the assembled reporters. “I turned down Teryl when he was at Sharon High School, when he went to Pitt, and then I got him the [graduate assistant] job at Penn State. So he’s been torturing me ever since.
“I should have never turned him down. It was a mistake.”
BRADLEY STILL A LION
Bradley, standing on the left side near the entrance, on Hall’s right, was the man most had come to see on this day. In his 11th season as Penn State’s defensive coordinator, Bradley has been one of head coach Joe Paterno’s most loyal aides. He lettered for Paterno in 1977-78 and has been on staff for 32 years.
Bradley is part of the Penn State Legacy Club as well.
His brother, Jim, now the Pittsburgh Steelers’ orthopedic surgeon, preceded Tom to Penn State, lettering in 1973-74. And their late brother Matt was a stand-out linebacker for the Lions from 1979-81.
Just a week ago, it looked as though Paterno may lose Bradley. Temple needed a new lead man after Al Golden, another former Paterno player and assistant, left for Miami (Fla.). That’s when the Temple athletic director, Bill Bradshaw, reached out to Bradley.
On Tuesday, Bradley’s current boss – one Joseph Vincent Paterno — said he asked Bradley if he wanted help getting the job. Bradley said no.
“I thought we had to get ready for Florida,” Bradley explained Wednesday. “There were things we had to get ready for. These things are tough because you’re flattered that people are showing interest in you. You really are.”
Earlier in the month, Bradley’s name was floated as a possible replacement for Dave Wannstedt at Pitt, which ended up hiring Mike Haywood from Miami (Ohio).
Bradley, who hails from Johnstown, has been Penn State’s point man for recruiting in western Pennsylvania for a long time. He has strong ties to Pittsburgh and, in fact, his late father Sam played basketball for Pitt.
So Pitt and Bradley seemed like a possible fit.
“I think there’s another interest where Pitt is a great university, has great people, they have great leadership and chancellor [Mark] Nordenberg,” Bradley said. “They have good things going on down there, too.
Athletic director “Steve Pederson has done a great job,” Bradley added. “All these things, sometimes these things start to take life on their own. I don’t know how to describe, they just get going, they start to roll and I think the Internet causes a lot of it.”
CURLEY PLANS ON PATERNO RETURN
That was the case with the latest rumors surrounding Paterno, who reiterated Tuesday his desire to coach next season.
On Wednesday, Penn State athletic director Tim Curley said he expects Paterno to return for the 2011 season.
Penn State’s players said they heard all kinds of rumors about Paterno as well.
“I actually heard a conspiracy theory that he had cancer and that he was all summer in some kind of secret underground rehabilitation clinic or something like that,” said Mauti. “As far as I’m concerned very well could be true, because that’s how much I don’t know about it. There’s hundreds of them. But yeah, that’s probably the craziest thing out there.”
D’Anton Lynn knows the craziness that surrounds coaching. Lynn is an aspiring coach himself and his father, Anthony, is running backs coach of the New York Jets. In addition to clinching a playoff spot, the Jets have been in the news for a different off-the-field issue seemingly every week.
Lynn experienced it first-hand Dec. 12, at his first Jets game this season, when strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi tripped Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll on the sideline.
‘I was actually like five yards behind the guy when it happened,” Lynn said. “I saw it happen, I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe he just did that.’ ”
Both Lynn and Mauti said they think Bradley has what it takes to be a good head coach.
Has Bradley given thought to a potential blueprint, should he one day become a head coach?
“How much time do you have?” Bradley retorted. “We’ll need a long time. This isn’t gonna last that long, is it?”
Bradley said he has already congratulated Addazio on the new job. Bradley said becoming a head coach will not define him.
A HALL OF A HEAD COACH
But being a head coach, the former lead man Hall said, is the common goal of assistant coaches everywhere.
“The thing about it is, we’re all in this profession and probably everyone wants to become a head coach,” Hall said. “I think in any profession, I think you want go from here to here to here to here to here to here, and I don’t mean jump all the time at anything.”
Hall was the head coach for five-plus years at Florida, from 1984-89, earning a 40-18-1 record. In 1985, Florida was 9-1-1 as midseason Hall led the school to its first No. 1 ranking.
“I think it’s a plus for us to have people on our staff that other people are considering for the head-coaching job,” Hall said. “Now whether they get it or not, obviously it didn’t work out this year for (Bradley), but hopefully I’d be very happy for our coaches if someone could become the head coach at so-and-so university. Yeah, I’d be very happy for him.”
In addition to Hall, Penn State assistants Dick Anderson (Rutgers) and Ron Vanderlinden (Maryland) have served as head coaches elsewhere. Earlier this month, Vanderlinden was considered a candidate for head-coaching vacancies at Ball State and Temple, but he didn’t get either job.
For now, the head-coaching job at Penn State remains unchanged as the Nittany Lions conclude their 45th season with Paterno at the helm. And Paterno and Penn State have given every indication here that they plan on moving forward into Year 46.
JOE’S LONGEVITY SURPRISES LEGACIES
Some, like the senior Wisniewski, did not think Paterno would be around for the length of their Penn State careers.
“I really didn’t, no,” Wisniewski said. “The funny thing is of all the schools that recruited me, he’s the only coach that’s still here and he was 80 when he was recruiting me. So it’s pretty weird how things work out like that.”
There were few doubts during the recruiting process, though, because Wisniewski said he thinks “Penn State is still going to be Penn State” whenever Paterno is done coaching.
So, as Muschamp waits until after the Outback Bowl to decide on his staff at Florida, Penn State marches forward under the same guidance, as consistent as its plain uniforms, to 2011 and who knows just how far along after.
“That was one of those things,” Mauti said. “I came here more for the assistant coaches than Joe.”
Then Joe’s a bonus?
“Well, Coach (Brian) Norwood recruited me,” Mauti said. “He’s at Baylor now. Funny you should say that. That’s kind of ironic.”
Earlier coverage
