Paterno built his program on the credo “Success with Honor,” and he found both. The man known as “JoePa” won 409 games and took the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and two national championships. More than 250 of the players he coached went on to the National Football League.
“He will go down as the greatest football coach in the history of the game,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said after his former team, the Florida Gators, beat Penn State 37-24 in the 2011 Outback
His phenomenal record, and positive impact he had on thousands of students and athletes, is balanced by this:
“This is a tragedy,” the coach said. “It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”
I wish JoePa had done more, too.
