STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Joe Paterno used to tell the story about when he was hired to replace Rip Engle as Penn State's head coach in 1966, agreeing quickly to a deal after the athletic director offered him a salary of $20,000.
Now, Penn State must hire a head coach for the first time since the Lyndon Johnson administration to replace Paterno, 84, who announced his retirement Wednesday in the wake of the child sexual-abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
It's a safe bet that the new coach will be earning far more than $20,000. It's also likely he will not come from the Penn State staff given sentiment that the university must clean house as part of its recovery from the scandal.
Former Florida coach Urban Meyer appears to be the overwhelming favorite to become the new head coach. The list of successors appears to be a short one: Two head coaches – Miami's Al Golden (formerly of Temple) and Rutgers' Greg Schiano, with Penn State links – and a lot of guessing.
Golden played for Paterno from 1989 through 1991 and also served as an assistant coach. Schiano coached the defensive backs at Penn State in the early 1990s. Both men were on the staff at the same time as Sandusky, who retired after the 1999 season.
Meyer, whose last game as a head coach came in the 2011 Outback Bowl when his Gators defeated the Nittany Lions, has spent the college football season as an ESPN analyst. But he has been linked to potential openings at Penn State and Ohio State since the season began.
A report, denied by Meyer, surfaced last month that Penn State officials had talked to Meyer to gauge his interest in succeeding Paterno, whose contract expired after this season. Ohio State has an interim head coach in Luke Fickell and is the primary university in Meyer's native state.
An ESPN spokeswoman said Wednesday that Meyer would have no comment on Penn State but would be issuing a statement Thursday. Meyer is expected to be in the broadcast booth for Saturday's game between the Nittany Lions and Nebraska, Paterno's final home game as head coach.
In an Associated Press interview last week, Meyer said he missed coaching.
"I miss a lot of things about it," he said. "But I also am really enjoying another part, that I get to watch my kids play sports."
Meyer, 47, won two national championships at Florida and posted 65 victories in his six seasons there. He announced his retirement last Dec. 8.
