Jay Paterno Leaves Penn State to Officially End Paterno Era

For the first time since the middle of the 20th century, there will be no Paternos on the sidelines for the Penn State Nittany Lions in 2012.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Jay Paterno, son of legendary head coach Joe Paterno, is bowing out of Penn State’s coaching staff.

Paterno has been on the Nittany Lions coaching staff since 1995 and has served as the team’s quarterbacks coach since 1999. His decision to leave the program comes mere days after New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was hired as Joe Paterno’s successor.

JoePa, of course, was forced out as Penn State’s head football coach in November in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Jay stayed on as the team’s quarterbacks coach for its final four games, three of them losses.

The younger Paterno said in a statement that he reached his decision after speaking with O’Brien, and that the two of them reached a mutual conclusion that he should leave the program. He plans on spending the next few weeks consulting with his family and weighing his options as far as what he should do next.

Joe Paterno first joined Penn State’s coaching staff in 1950, taking over as the Nittany Lions’ head coach in 1966. He proceeded to rack up an FBS-record 409 wins and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

It suffices to say that O’Brien has large shoes to fill, but his job is twofold. In addition to carrying on Penn State’s winning tradition on the field, he’ll also have to do his part in terms of regaining some of the university’s integrity.

Evidently, he is confident that he can do both without Jay Paterno.