Paterno announces retirement at season's end

THE NEWS

Joe Paterno, the Penn State football coach who preached success with honor for half a century but whose legend was shattered by a child sex abuse scandal, announced Wednesday he will retire at the end of this season.

Paterno said he was “absolutely devastated” by the case, in which his one-time heir apparent, Jerry Sandusky, has been charged with molesting eight boys over 15 years, including at the Penn State football complex.

He said he hoped the team could finish its season with “dignity and determination.

THE CONVERSATION

Join Mike Hlas, Marc Morehouse and Nick Pugliese for a discussion about the scandal at Penn State and subsequent announced retirement of Joe Pa. We'll get the conversation going at 3:00 p.m.

THE RECORD

• 409-136-3 in 46th season, including 8-1 this season, and reached 300 career wins faster than any other coach
• Bowl record of 24-12-1
• Won national titles in 1982, with a 27-23 win over Georgia at the Sugar Bowl, and in 1986, intercepting Miami's Vinny Testaverde five times in a 14-10 win at the Fiesta Bowl.
• Captured three Big Ten titles
• Guided five teams to unbeaten, untied seasons
• Coached 47 academic All-Americans, the third-highest total among FBS institutions.

THE REACTION

• “I still can't believe it. I've never seen Coach Paterno like that in my life,” junior quarterback Stephon Morris after Paterno broke down talking to his team.

• “He will go down as the greatest football coach in the history of the game. Every young coach, in my opinion, can take a lesson from him,” former Florida coach Urban Meyer said after his last game with the Gators, a 37-24 win over Penn State at the 2011 Outback Bowl.

• “He teaches us about really just growing up and being a man. Besides the football, he's preparing us to be good men in life,” former linebacker Paul Posluszny, now with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

• “Joe's been there for a long time. To have something like this happen is tough, tough to hear and everybody was obviously very emotional and upset,” safety Drew Astorino.

WHAT THEY'RE WRITING

Excerpts from national columnists ...

• “Joe Paterno needs to explain himself. And then, after 46 years as Penn State's head coach, Paterno needs to leave, because it is becoming increasingly clear that he chose to protect his beloved university and its mammoth football program instead of attempting to protect disadvantaged children who were being placed in harm's way.” Steve Kelley, Seattle Times

• “The adults who are deeply entwined in the Penn State scandal are lucky. They are surrounded by grown-ups looking out for their best interests ... What's pathetic is how none of these grown-ups invested nearly the same efforts to protect the eight children Sandusky is accused of abusing as they apparently have to cover their own rear ends.” Bryan Burwell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

• “Eight boys, during the course of 15 years, were allegedly abused by a football coach. But Sandusky was no run-of-the-mill coach. For three decades, he was the right-hand man of Joe Paterno at Penn State, where football was not just a game but a morality play. Now Paterno, revered not only for his record 409 victories but for his steadfast standards of high character, will have his legacy tainted by a sordid scandal.” Linda Robertson, Miami Herald