Joe Paterno's Son Urges Penn State Fans to Remember His Father Amid Brutal Start

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Things aren't exactly great in Happy Valley for the Penn State football program, something that nobody was hoping for entering this year. 

With new head coach Matt Campbell, while he had a boatload of expectations after James Franklin was one of the better coaches in the country, no matter what anybody wanted to say, there was a hope and belief that Penn State was going to be above average, at the very least. 

To say that hasn't been the case would be putting it lightly, as Penn State has been among the worst teams in Power Four football over the past two weeks. 

Even in the first couple of games of the season, the Nittany Lions weren't playing great football. 

The harsh reality is that Penn State didn't look great, and Happy Valley has a standard and expectation that must be met for that to change.

If somebody knows that better than anybody, it's Jay Paterno, the son of the all-time Penn State coach, Joe Paterno. 

Both Paternos have seen everything differently than others in the program, for better or worse. 

As for how he feels about what Campbell has done this season, he understands things haven't gone as planned, but he believes Penn State needs to give him time. He said that's because other coaches in the past have also struggled early on.

“That requires weathering criticism. Years ago, some people (coaches included) wanted to blow a talented freshman player’s redshirt year to get another win or two. We resisted that impatience and in 2005 that player’s redshirt senior year resulted in a Big Ten title. Want more proof? Look no further than the winningest Division I coaches in football and men’s basketball history. Joe Paterno took over a team that had gone 5-5. In his first year Penn State finished 5-5 with losses to Army and Syracuse and big losses at No. 5 Georgia Tech, at No. 4 UCLA, and at No. 1 Michigan State.

“The offseason was filled with second guessing. That criticism did not wane following the 1967 season-opening loss at Navy. For the faithful who remained, they were rewarded as coaches and players built a program that became a model of sustained excellence. Mike Krzyzewski came to Duke basketball in 1980 after five seasons at Army. In his first three years he went 17-13, 10-17 and 11-17. Many wondered if the Duke job was too big for him. His long-term vision carried the day, but only because he was allowed to build it into reality,” Paterno wrote.

If I have one reason to believe he can turn things around at a high level, it's because Penn State has the opportunity to spend a boatload of money and build a better roster next season. 

It's interesting that Paterno brings up some of these points, however, as they're more than fair. 

The reality is that not all great coaches find success immediately, though I'd push back a bit on that argument because the NIL era and expectations are much different now.

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