Monday Morning MVP: Joe Paterno

Monday Morning MVP: Joe Paterno
courtesy of rollingout.com 

Our MMMVP for the week of January 16th-January 22nd goes to the late, great, legendary head coach of Penn State University, Joe Paterno.


Joe Paterno was Penn State University and he loved the entire Penn State University community. Paterno had many chances to go to the NFL but he turned them down to stay at PSU. 

Paterno led the Nittany Lions to back to back undefeated seasons in 1968 and 1969. He also led the Nittany Lions to another undefeated season in 1973 as well. Remember, Paterno did all of this in a seven year span, since he became head coach in 1966.

As stated earlier, he turned down many opportunities to go to the NFL. That first opportunity came in 1973, when the New England Patriots asked Paterno to be head coach but he turned them down. Paterno loved PSU with all his heart and soul.

In 1982 and 1986, he led Penn State to two National Championships. Throughout Paterno’s 46 year career, he led the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl appearances and he won 24 of those appearances. In October 2011, Paterno got his 409th career win vs. Illinois. That win made Paterno the leader in career wins for Division 1 coaches.

Joe Paterno not only helped the football program but helped the university. He was a great coach, who taught the game how it was supposed to be played and he was a great man. As somebody I know said about Paterno, “he’s made the biggest impact on people’s lives”.  He has and he will continue to live throughout Penn State University for generations to come. 
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