Joe Paterno Fired As Penn State Football Coach, According To Report

Nov 09 10:01p by Evan Dunlap

Penn State University will fire head football coach Joe Paterno, reports Jim Gardner of Action News 6. His ouster comes less than two weeks after he picked up his 409th career coaching victory, which made him the winningest coach in FBS history.

Paterno's dismissal is a result of the sex scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, who served as an assistant coach to Paterno for 30 years. Following a two-year investigation, Sandusky was charged with 40 counts of sexual assault on children, and it was reported Paterno knew of at least one alleged encounter but failed to notify the police.

Investigators concluded Paterno fulfilled his legal obligation by reporting the allegation to his superiors, but not his moral one to involve the authorities.

Assistant coach Tom Bradley will take over for Paterno on an interim basis, reports Gardner. Bradley played for Paterno from 1975-79 and has served has his defensive coordinator since 1980. The No. 12 Nittany Lions take the field Saturday, Nov. 12, against the No. 19 Nebraska Cornhuskers in a game with huge implications for the Big Ten bowl picture.

For complete coverage of the Nittany Lions, please visit Black Shoe Diaries.