I HAVE been asked many times, "What was it like to work with Joe Paterno?"
I had the opportunity to work with the legendary former Penn State coach for over 17 years. During that time, I sat to his right every Tuesday around noon during football season and facilitated and moderated his weekly media conference.
In those sessions, you garnered a great deal of football knowledge as Paterno offered thoughts on his team as well as the upcoming opponent. It also never failed that you often heard what I used to call "vintage Joe Paterno."
Without fail, at least once week, he offered some type of life lesson or life principle on something other than football. It was at those times that you realized that this was no ordinary football coach. Paterno was extremely intelligent and well read. He educated all of us on the great philosophers, writers and leaders of history. He seemed especially fond of Winston Churchill.
Oh, he knew football. Paterno was a great football coach. He may have been the best ever. His 409 wins is tops on the all-time Division I list. He was also unique in that he did not insist that his players call him "coach" or "Coach Paterno." Most of them called him Joe. They usually called the assistants by their first names also.
Paterno was a brilliant man. He was a man of great widsom, vision and integrity. He believed in Success with Honor and he ran his program that way. When he took over as head coach of the Nittany Lions in 1966, he began what he called "The Grand Experiment." He was determined to prove that you could coach major-college football at an elite level with legitimate student athletes.
He brought an Ivy League philosophy to big-time football, and he won big. His Nittany Lions program in 1968, 1969 and 1970 won 31 straight games and became the dominant program in the East with players such as Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Dennis Onkotz, Mike Reid, Lydell Mitchell and Steve Smear. He also had a receiver, Greg Edmonds, from the then newly formed George Washington High School in Charleston.
When he first arrived at Penn State in 1951, it was a small school in and a sleepy agricultural town in the hinterlands of Pennsylvania. But Paterno saw the potential. He saw a beautiful university and a charming college town that, while isolated, was within easy reach of some of the best recruiting areas in college football. Even in the 1950s he saw the potential in what Penn State football and Penn State University could become even though others did not. He would impact Penn State more than any football coach would impact a college campus.
Paterno also preached toughness, physical football, hard work and a love of sportsmanship and competition. He not only talked the talk, he walked the walk. He did not allow names on the back of the uniforms. It was all about the team. His teams wore black shoes so opponents would watch them on film and think they were slower than they were. If you cursed or swore at practice, or in a game, or did anything in terms of taunting an opponent, you would incur his wrath and find yourself with a seat on the bench. He loved the integrity of the game and believed in respecting your opponent.
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There will never be another Joe Paterno
I HAVE been asked many times, "What was it like to work with Joe Paterno?"
I had the opportunity to work with the legendary former Penn State coach for over 17 years. During that time, I sat to his right every Tuesday around noon during football season and facilitated and moderated his weekly media conference.
In those sessions, you garnered a great deal of football knowledge as Paterno offered thoughts on his team as well as the upcoming opponent. It also never failed that you often heard what I used to call "vintage Joe Paterno."
Without fail, at least once week, he offered some type of life lesson or life principle on something other than football. It was at those times that you realized that this was no ordinary football coach. Paterno was extremely intelligent and well read. He educated all of us on the great philosophers, writers and leaders of history. He seemed especially fond of Winston Churchill.
Oh, he knew football. Paterno was a great football coach. He may have been the best ever. His 409 wins is tops on the all-time Division I list. He was also unique in that he did not insist that his players call him "coach" or "Coach Paterno." Most of them called him Joe. They usually called the assistants by their first names also.
Paterno was a brilliant man. He was a man of great widsom, vision and integrity. He believed in Success with Honor and he ran his program that way. When he took over as head coach of the Nittany Lions in 1966, he began what he called "The Grand Experiment." He was determined to prove that you could coach major-college football at an elite level with legitimate student athletes.
He brought an Ivy League philosophy to big-time football, and he won big. His Nittany Lions program in 1968, 1969 and 1970 won 31 straight games and became the dominant program in the East with players such as Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Dennis Onkotz, Mike Reid, Lydell Mitchell and Steve Smear. He also had a receiver, Greg Edmonds, from the then newly formed George Washington High School in Charleston.
When he first arrived at Penn State in 1951, it was a small school in and a sleepy agricultural town in the hinterlands of Pennsylvania. But Paterno saw the potential. He saw a beautiful university and a charming college town that, while isolated, was within easy reach of some of the best recruiting areas in college football. Even in the 1950s he saw the potential in what Penn State football and Penn State University could become even though others did not. He would impact Penn State more than any football coach would impact a college campus.
Paterno also preached toughness, physical football, hard work and a love of sportsmanship and competition. He not only talked the talk, he walked the walk. He did not allow names on the back of the uniforms. It was all about the team. His teams wore black shoes so opponents would watch them on film and think they were slower than they were. If you cursed or swore at practice, or in a game, or did anything in terms of taunting an opponent, you would incur his wrath and find yourself with a seat on the bench. He loved the integrity of the game and believed in respecting your opponent.
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I HAVE been asked many times, "What was it like to work with Joe Paterno?"
I had the opportunity to work with the legendary former Penn State coach for over 17 years. During that time, I sat to his right every Tuesday around noon during football season and facilitated and moderated his weekly media conference.
In those sessions, you garnered a great deal of football knowledge as Paterno offered thoughts on his team as well as the upcoming opponent. It also never failed that you often heard what I used to call "vintage Joe Paterno."
Without fail, at least once week, he offered some type of life lesson or life principle on something other than football. It was at those times that you realized that this was no ordinary football coach. Paterno was extremely intelligent and well read. He educated all of us on the great philosophers, writers and leaders of history. He seemed especially fond of Winston Churchill.
Oh, he knew football. Paterno was a great football coach. He may have been the best ever. His 409 wins is tops on the all-time Division I list. He was also unique in that he did not insist that his players call him "coach" or "Coach Paterno." Most of them called him Joe. They usually called the assistants by their first names also.
Paterno was a brilliant man. He was a man of great widsom, vision and integrity. He believed in Success with Honor and he ran his program that way. When he took over as head coach of the Nittany Lions in 1966, he began what he called "The Grand Experiment." He was determined to prove that you could coach major-college football at an elite level with legitimate student athletes.
He brought an Ivy League philosophy to big-time football, and he won big. His Nittany Lions program in 1968, 1969 and 1970 won 31 straight games and became the dominant program in the East with players such as Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Dennis Onkotz, Mike Reid, Lydell Mitchell and Steve Smear. He also had a receiver, Greg Edmonds, from the then newly formed George Washington High School in Charleston.
When he first arrived at Penn State in 1951, it was a small school in and a sleepy agricultural town in the hinterlands of Pennsylvania. But Paterno saw the potential. He saw a beautiful university and a charming college town that, while isolated, was within easy reach of some of the best recruiting areas in college football. Even in the 1950s he saw the potential in what Penn State football and Penn State University could become even though others did not. He would impact Penn State more than any football coach would impact a college campus.
Paterno also preached toughness, physical football, hard work and a love of sportsmanship and competition. He not only talked the talk, he walked the walk. He did not allow names on the back of the uniforms. It was all about the team. His teams wore black shoes so opponents would watch them on film and think they were slower than they were. If you cursed or swore at practice, or in a game, or did anything in terms of taunting an opponent, you would incur his wrath and find yourself with a seat on the bench. He loved the integrity of the game and believed in respecting your opponent.
In an era when many head coaches make mega-salaries and live in gated palatial estates, Paterno lived rather modestly. His home phone number was listed in the phone book. He lived in a Leave it to Beaver-style modest home in a normal residential neighborhood on the edge of a park that was within walking distance of his office and Beaver Stadium. His coaches' courtesy car was not a Lexus or a BMW, it was more along the lines of a Ford Taurus.
My children have many wonderful memories of bowl trips with Penn State football. No school did bowl trips like the Paterno/Penn State trips. Every trip had some type of a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day party hosted by Joe and his wife Sue. They made everyone feel like family as they gave gifts to the children, had a player play Santa Claus, and led the entire group in the singing of all of the traditional Christmas carols. The food and hospitlality was much like a Norman Rockwell family gathering.
Joe Paterno wasn't perfect. Like many of my uncles, he could be a stubborn, hot-tempered, hard-headed Italian New Yorker. I don't think I ever won an argument with him, even if I was right.
However, I also learned more from being around him than anyone I have ever met. Every day was like taking a class from an incredible professor. He pushed you. He motivated you. In a world of out-of-perspective big-time athletics, he made sure our staff kept the proper perspective and made the right decisions in all areas of the program.
In the 1950 C. S. Lewis classic book, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," there is a line in the story that reminds me of Paterno. When one of the children in the story asks one of the beavers about meeting Aslan the Lion, they ask, "Is he safe?"
"No," the animal replies. "But he's good."
Joe Paterno was really, really good. There will never be another like him.
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
There will never be another Joe Paterno
I HAVE been asked many times, "What was it like to work with Joe Paterno?"
I had the opportunity to work with the legendary former Penn State coach for over 17 years. During that time, I sat to his right every Tuesday around noon during football season and facilitated and moderated his weekly media conference.
In those sessions, you garnered a great deal of football knowledge as Paterno offered thoughts on his team as well as the upcoming opponent. It also never failed that you often heard what I used to call "vintage Joe Paterno."
Without fail, at least once week, he offered some type of life lesson or life principle on something other than football. It was at those times that you realized that this was no ordinary football coach. Paterno was extremely intelligent and well read. He educated all of us on the great philosophers, writers and leaders of history. He seemed especially fond of Winston Churchill.
Oh, he knew football. Paterno was a great football coach. He may have been the best ever. His 409 wins is tops on the all-time Division I list. He was also unique in that he did not insist that his players call him "coach" or "Coach Paterno." Most of them called him Joe. They usually called the assistants by their first names also.
Paterno was a brilliant man. He was a man of great widsom, vision and integrity. He believed in Success with Honor and he ran his program that way. When he took over as head coach of the Nittany Lions in 1966, he began what he called "The Grand Experiment." He was determined to prove that you could coach major-college football at an elite level with legitimate student athletes.
He brought an Ivy League philosophy to big-time football, and he won big. His Nittany Lions program in 1968, 1969 and 1970 won 31 straight games and became the dominant program in the East with players such as Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Dennis Onkotz, Mike Reid, Lydell Mitchell and Steve Smear. He also had a receiver, Greg Edmonds, from the then newly formed George Washington High School in Charleston.
When he first arrived at Penn State in 1951, it was a small school in and a sleepy agricultural town in the hinterlands of Pennsylvania. But Paterno saw the potential. He saw a beautiful university and a charming college town that, while isolated, was within easy reach of some of the best recruiting areas in college football. Even in the 1950s he saw the potential in what Penn State football and Penn State University could become even though others did not. He would impact Penn State more than any football coach would impact a college campus.
Paterno also preached toughness, physical football, hard work and a love of sportsmanship and competition. He not only talked the talk, he walked the walk. He did not allow names on the back of the uniforms. It was all about the team. His teams wore black shoes so opponents would watch them on film and think they were slower than they were. If you cursed or swore at practice, or in a game, or did anything in terms of taunting an opponent, you would incur his wrath and find yourself with a seat on the bench. He loved the integrity of the game and believed in respecting your opponent.
