Meyer, who was to have been the color analyst for Saturday's telecast of the Penn State-Nebraska game in State College, was not in the broadcast booth for a very good reason: His father died.
Meyer reportedly talked last week with Arizona about its opening, but decided not to pursue it. Meanwhile, the Ohio native also is on the wish list at Ohio State. At Penn State, he or someone else will succeed not Paterno, but interim coach Tom Bradley, who was elevated to the top spot late Wednesday night after his boss of 33 years was fired. Bradley coached the Nits in the 17-14 loss to the Cornhuskers, and he will be in charge for the last two regular-season contests, at Ohio State and Wisconsin, as well as for an expected bowl game. But there is virtually no chance Bradley will be brought back in 2012, in any capacity. He is too linked to the now-tainted JoePa, and it is safe to assume anyone brought in from the outside will want to work with his own people.
But what if Meyer decides Happy Valley isn't for him? There's a good chance he might have come to that conclusion anyway, even if Sandusky had never been charged with molesting children or if Paterno, who turns 85 on Dec. 21, was retiring simply because he was old and tired.
If we know anything of college sports, it is that it always is better not to be the man who succeeds The Man; it is better to be the man who succeeds the man who succeeds The Man. Just ask Ray Perkins, who had to step into the giant footsteps left by his predecessor at Alabama, Paul "Bear" Bryant, or Gene Bartow, who took over the UCLA basketball dynasty after the legendary John Wooden retired.
