Penn State interim head coach Tom Bradley will reportedly get an interview this week with the university's six-person search committee tasked with finding a replacement for fired legendary coach, Joe Paterno.
A long-time assistant under Paterno, many have speculated that Bradley's chances of actually getting the job aren't very good because of his role as part of the old regime, however, he has said he wants the job and appears to have the support of former players, according to Nate Bauer of BWI.com. Quoting former defensive back Justin King, Bauer writes the following:
Talking with former teammates in the NFL like Mike Robinson and Deon Butler of the Seattle Seahawks, and Jordan Norwood of the Cleveland Browns, King said there's a strong sense among the players of wanting to maintain the level of tradition that had been so important to their experiences at Penn State.
"I feel like it's a big thing. We talk about it and we would like somebody to still be there that was there when we were there," he said. "At Penn State, everything was based off of tradition. Everything was based off of how it was done before you. You respect everybody that came before you, so it would be weird if someone from another school or has no ties to Penn State came in and cleans house and brings in all new people.
"They don't know us. We don't have anything to do with them. It's almost like it erases everything that was before them to a certain extent. I would like to see someone from within stay and take it over."
Bradley served as Paterno's defensive coordinator from 2000 right up to his firing on Nov. 9. In his interim post, the 55-year old went 1-2 to close the season with losses against Nebraska and Wisconsin and a win against Ohio State in Columbus.