This is the first of two small updates on the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State. I won't get into the scandal itself again, personally I hope he rots in prison, just click on one of the tags if you somehow don't know it. I just find these stories interesting as hell because of how things change over time and how some stories always seem wind and twist their way into others. This post falls into the latter category.
All the background you need for this part is to remember what the scandal did to Joe Paterno and the Penn State football program. Paterno's firing, the NCAA $60 million fine, banned from bowl games, and the loss of scholarships. With the end of the Paterno reign a savior was summoned from Boston, Bill O'Brien. Amid all the turmoil and scandal O'Brien and the team had an awesome season that any other year would have landed them in a New Year's Day bowl game or better.
The problem is O'Brien did such a good job with the mess he was handed that his stock as a coach will probably never be higher. Multiple NFL teams, including the Eagles, wanted to talk to him and rumor has it the Penn State administration was so sure he was going to leave that they started a list of coaching candidates to talk to about replacing him. Enter a second savior in Penn State graduate Terry Pagula who had already donated over $100 million to start Penn State's division 1 ice hockey program. Out of nowhere the story went in a completely different direction Thursday night.
From a
Buffalo News report; "Pegula donated a $1.3 million gift to be added to O’Brien’s salary in the coming year that will bump his total compensation to $3.6 million and place him behind only Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz as the third-highest-paid coach in the Big Ten." Bill O'Brien announced he would not be leaving Penn State, had never really planned on leaving, and was indeed happy in Happy Valley. You can think what you will about O'brien's comments but they are probably casting his statue as I post this.
Still, I do have a small problem with Terry Pagula.
How could I possibly have a problem with a fellow Penn State alum, a man who gave birth to the Penn State ice hockey program, built a state of the art ice arena, and kept O'Brien in Happy Valley? Pagula also happens to be the owner of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.
I'm not even going to get into that.
