UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania (U-WIRE) --
With his bowl victory becoming
nothing more than a memory, Joe Paterno sat
in a ballroom in his team's San Antonio
hotel and laughed when asked about the vacancy
left by the retirement of long-time
defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
The Penn State coach's humor was based on the
fact he had no clue or time frame in
which he would make the decision. About the
only thing on Paterno's mind was that
following his press conference he had a date
-- with his grandkids on a Riverwalk boat
tour.
But a month and a half later, the laughter
had stopped -- the time was finally right.
And although one coaching spot needed to be
filled, Paterno decided more needed to
be done to the foundation on which the Penn
State football has been established for
most of the 1990s.
It was time for a change.
Heading into the 2000 season, Penn State will
be led by two new assistant coaches and
some familiar faces in new places.
The announcement of defensive backs coach Tom
Bradley being named Sandusky's
successor was also coupled with the hiring of
two new assistant coaches and position
changes for current Penn State assistants Joe
Sarra, Dick Anderson, Jay Paterno and
Fran Ganter.
And while both Bradley and Ganter have been
promoted, a title that had rested next to
their names has been taken away.
"I hate using that term," Paterno said of
eliminating the term coordinator. "I think what it
does, is that it has gotten to the point
where people assume that it is his offense or his
defense. When every decision is made on a
staff basis."
After being the Nittany Lions offensive
"coordinator" for 15 years, Ganter was named
assistant head coach by Paterno Monday.
The title will involve new responsibilities for
Ganter while he continues to run the offense.
The title Ganter now enjoys is the same
title former Penn State coach Rip Engle gave
Joe Paterno years before he succeeded him
in 1966, suggesting Ganter is the logical
choice to take over the reigns when Paterno
steps down.
Even if it is logic that Paterno fails to fall
in line with.
"People should not read too much into this as
far as whether Fran will be my successor
or not," Paterno said. "I am not, in any way,
trying to make a decision for this university
five years from now. I don't think that would
be fair for the university. That is why when
we signed the five-year contract, I felt
comfortable that Franny be recognized for the
great job he has done without putting the
university in the position of who should
succeed me.
"But certainly Franny would be a great candidate
if I were to retire tomorrow."
But what is certain is that in the eyes of Paterno,
Bradley was a great candidate to take
over for Sandusky.
The former Penn State defensive back and Lions
secondary coach since 1996 has been
responsible for molding such prominent players
as safety Kim Herring, cornerback
Anthony King and All-American David Macklin.
And while he will have control of the entire
defense, it is the familiarity with each player
that will make the transition a smooth one.
Probably.
"It will be chaos," Bradley said laughing in
reference to his first day as head of the
defense. "I think Bhawoh Jue will be a starter
now since he predicted before that I
would get this position so, yeah, Bhawoh Jue
is a starter.
"But it will be interesting with the players
and coaches, coaches and players. I don't
think it will be much of a problem with the
players getting used to me. They know me."
In addition to the moves Ganter and Bradley
have made, former quarterbacks coach
Dave Anderson now will be one of two offensive
line coaches along with current
offensive line coach Bill Kenney. Anderson will
focus on the center and guard positions
while Kenney is responsible for the tackles and
tight ends.
Long-time defensive tackles coach Joe Sarra has
been moved into an office position for
the Penn State program. Sarra will begin his
administrative role as assistant to the head
coach for special projects.
Jay Paterno, a former Penn State quarterback,
assumes Anderson's former position as
he will be the man to mold quarterbacks Rashard
Casey and Matt Senneca next
season.
Kenny Jackson and Larry Johnson will continue to
serve as the Lions wide receivers
and defensive ends coaches, respectively.
To fill the special teams and linebackers coach
positions, Paterno looked toward the
past to find his future leaders.
In 1986, Bob White finished his career as a
two-time national champion after he was
part of the Lions defense that flustered Miami
quarterback Vinny Testaverde into five
interceptions during the Fiesta Bowl.
In 2000, he will return in pursuit of adding
onto his collection of national championship
rings as Penn State's special teams coach.
Joining him will be another former Lion who
spent his last couple of years hurting his
former alma mater -- not on the field, but
on the road.
After dominating eastern recruiting at Boston
College, Eagles linebackers coach Al
Golden could not ignore the chance to come
home and assume the same job in Happy
Valley.
"We talked about a lot of different things on
Friday," Boston College head coach Tom
O'Brien said. "I am happy for him because he
is happy. With him being a former captain
at Penn State, this is something he wanted to
do."
The hiring of Golden and White, along with the
shuffling of the other coaches, marks the
first time Penn State's coaching staff has been
tampered with since 1997.
It also marks Paterno's feeling that it is a
time for a change.
"I didn't hire these guys because they were
Penn State people," Paterno said. "Al
Golden had done a fantastic job at BC. He
literally wiped out New Jersey a year ago in
recruiting. Bobby White is a very unusual
person. I think Bobby White will be
outstanding.
"I could look all over the place and not find
anybody as good as these two guys."
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