The Pulse: Why McQueary, not All-America Jackson?

Why did Joe Paterno hire Mike McQueary as the Penn State wide-receiver coach if Kenny Jackson was available at the time?

According to Jackson, it's because he never applied for the position, although he acknowledges a willingness to return to Happy Valley as a coach had Paterno made the request.

Jackson has a rich football pedigree. He was the first PSU All-America receiver. He was an important part of the team that captured the 1982 national title. In four seasons, he caught 109 passes for 2,006 yards and 25 touchdowns. In 1984, Philadelphia drafted Jackson in the first round. He played for the Eagles for a few years before moving in 1989 to Houston as a free agent. After a season with the Oilers, Jackson returned to Philadelphia for his final two NFL seasons.

After the NFL, in 1993, he returned to Happy Valley, where for the next seven years he coached the PSU wide receivers. Jackson was credited with mentoring such stars as Joe Jurevicius, who became an All-Big Ten receiver; Bobby Engram, twice an All-America and winner of Biletnikoff Award (for the nation's top collegiate receiver) in 1994; and Freddie Scott, who played four seasons in the NFL after a successful career at PSU.

When a former teammate, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, came calling in 2001, Jackson decided to return to the NFL, this time as a coach.

Starting in February 2001, Jackson coached wide receivers for the Steelers. Under his tutelage, in the 2001 season, Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward both recorded more than 1,000 yards receiving in a single season - the first time a pair of Steelers achieved the milestone in the same season.

Nevertheless, on Jan. 6, 2004, Jackson was fired from the Steelers. There had been complaints for much of the 2003 season that Burress wasn't producing, and Jackson was held accountable.

Penn State was then in need of a wide-receiver coach. But at a news conference Feb. 18, 2004, when asked who would be in charge of wide receivers, Paterno announced the appointment of McQueary.