Vince Dooley on Joe Paterno: ‘It’s an unfortunate situation’
Joe Paterno on the day he announced his intention to resign at season's end. (AP photo)
Vince Dooley has known Joe Paterno for nearly 50 years. “We’re friends,” Dooley said. “Not close friends, but we started out together [Dooley became Georgia's head coach in 1964; Paterno took over at Penn State in 1966] and we coached in a college all-star game in Atlanta, and we went on a lot of Nike trips together. We got to know him and his wife Sue very well.”
Dooley spoke Wednesday morning, moments after Paterno announced his intention to retire at season’s end. And the man who retired from coaching in 1988 at 56 said this of the man who kept going until age 84: “It probably was time for him to retire.”
Dooley won one national championship at Georgia. On New Year’s Day 1983, his Bulldogs were denied another title by Paterno and Penn State in the Sugar Bowl. A defense coordinated by Jerry Sandusky held Heisman winner Herschel Walker to 103 yards rushing and lifted the Nittany Lions to a 27-23 victory and their first championship. It was a breakthrough moment in Paterno’s career, a career that would see him win more games than any major collegiate coach.
And now this: A coach whose slogan was “Success With Honor” became a national flashpoint after Sandusky was arrested on charges of child sexual abuse. Said Dooley: “Two or three games before he’s going out, this comes up … It’s an unfortunate situation.”
It is. It might well be the saddest story in the history of collegiate sports. Said Dooley: “Paterno did report [an eyewitness account of Sandusky, then retired as a coach, having sex with a boy on Penn State property] it to the AD. From a legal standpoint, they’ve said they’re not going to prosecute or indict [Paterno] or whatever. But as people began to think about it, they felt he should have pushed [the investigation of Sandusky] more.”
Then: “I’m sure he wishes he had pushed it more … It was obviously a mistake in judgment.”
Sure enough, Paterno said in the statement announcing his plan to retire: “With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”
Dooley: “I’m sure he was shocked [by the eyewitness account]. Maybe [Paterno] thought it was an incident and hoped it would go away, but the more you think about it, you think it probably wasn’t a one-time incident … The guy was sick.”
Penn State hasn’t yet said whether it will accede to Paterno’s desire to coach through the end of this season, a season that could yield a Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl berth. Taking the longer view, Dooley said he doesn’t believe the storm over Sandusky will cheapen a Paterno legacy that once seemed pristine.
“In long run, I don’t think it’s going to affect him. It will be talked about and written about and people will second-guess him, but there has been too much strength over the long haul. Time will pass.”
Dooley on Paterno himself: “I’ve always thought of him as an upright, honest person. I still think that of him.”
And here we come to a thorny question: Should one failure of conscience or wisdom override a half-century of good work? Will enough time pass that the Sandusky case won’t be mentioned in the second sentence of Paterno’s biography? Will anyone ever view this demonstrably great coach in quite the same way?
Dooley believes they might. I’d disagree. (I’m of the opinion that Paterno shouldn’t be allowed to coach another game.) But I yield to Dooley in that I’ve never been a coach or an administrator at the highest level of collegiate sports, and he has. And when I mentioned that Penn State football had often been held up as the model football program, Dooley corrected me.
“There is no perfect program,” he said. “There never will be.”
By Mark Bradley
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207 comments Add your comment
War Dang Dawg
November 9th, 2011
6:13 pm
Felix, it WAS Paterno’s responsibility. And McQueary’s, and any other adults who knew about it. After a day or two went by and this creep wasn’t arrested, that should have been someone’s cue to call the police. Or do something to follow up. No one did anything. It boggles the mind.
Give me a break, I agree. Sodomizing a 10-year old boy sure isn’t sex as I understand it. Any act of child molestation isn’t “sex”, it’s deviancy. That term should not be used.
Contractor
November 9th, 2011
6:14 pm
phil,
I have no doubt that Joe Paterno never laid a hand in the wrong manner on a young kid. So I have no clue what the heck you are talking about. He admits he didn’t handle this properly, hence his stepping down. So these facts you speak of that we’re waiting to “find out” are pretty much out there from the horses mouth itself. I never said he touched a kid, so re-read my posts before you assume something.
SuperB
November 9th, 2011
6:14 pm
Paterno must go! NOW!
War Dang Dawg
November 9th, 2011
6:19 pm
How do you know…
Your comments make no sense. I can’t imagine too many people would get into trouble for reporting the rape of a little boy, not in my world at least. But how could you live with yourself if you didn’t? Jobs come and go.
But Paterno wasn’t in that position. He was a multimillionaire who is arguably the most powerful man in College Station, PA. He probably could have had the cops of Sandusky’s front door inside of 15 minutes with one phone call. The man was 75 nine years ago.
And, those people you are referring to – McQueary and Paterno and the athletic department officials, ARE losing their jobs for their failure to report the crime, as they should.
Not sure what your point is.
Negligent Not Unfortunate
November 9th, 2011
6:32 pm
I disagree with V.Dooley. What Paterno did was negligent not unfortunate. Its unfortunate when you get a speeding ticket or lose your wallet. But when you are the head coach at university and you are told one of your coaches was raping a 10 year-old boy in the shower and you don’t immediately call the police then your behavior is negligent. Nobody should feel sorry for Joe Paterno. He allowed a heinous crime to go unpunished for 20 years !
Cuz
November 9th, 2011
6:38 pm
Coach Dooley is wrong. Paterno will forever be tied to this scandal.
And he should.
Larry
November 9th, 2011
7:00 pm
“Should one failure of conscience or wisdom override a half-century of good work?”
No, of course not Even Joe Paterno is not a perfect man…but he’s closer than 99.9 % of the population and that’s worth remembering.
At his age, this sudden separation–and the reason thereof–will be so emotionally devastating look for him to probably pass away in the not too distant future. When he does, there’s not a doubt in this man’s mind he’ll pass through the pearly gates with ease.
Go Dawgs…beat the SE Alabama cheap-shot pork rind goobers.
tim
November 9th, 2011
7:06 pm
Should a head coach be coaching from the press box as Paterno is doing??
Absolutly not.
They should of asked him to retire last year.
Dr. Morpheus
November 9th, 2011
7:10 pm
In real life, I provide psychological care for people who have suffered abuse like the kids who were victimized by a predator posing as a caring mentor. While I’ve always respected Coach Paterno, i can’t lightly excuse the gross moral failure he displayed in choosing not to step up for those vulnerable boys and protect them from suffering real damage that may well last a lifetime.
Beast from the East
November 9th, 2011
7:13 pm
I’m with you, Mark. He should not coach another game. It will be a circus if he’s allowed to stay. All parties involved should be gone…..yesterday.
Paddy
November 9th, 2011
7:15 pm
Somebody HAD to call the police! No one did for far too many years. What a disgrace. And how on earth does Sandusky get Emeritis status? Not everyting has come out yet and Joe Pa will continue to look worse and worse.
Beast from the East
November 9th, 2011
7:16 pm
I also think Paterno will be remembered for this forever. What do we remember Woody Hayes for? His stellar coaching career or “the punch”? This is a million times worse.
Nick
November 9th, 2011
7:17 pm
@Larry
If you talk to someone who has been a victim of this type of abuse they will tell you this is a pretty big failure of conscience. There a numerous young men who are forever scarred because Joe Pa and the others at Penn State didn’t do enough. No one is perfect, but that’s not the point. A mistake this big has to cost one their job. There apologies should be accepted and they should all be fired immediately, from the University President on down the line.
It's A Sorry World
November 9th, 2011
7:23 pm
Its nice to see all the judgements of Coach Paterno without knowing the facts. Coach said the grad assistant wasnt specific when he told him about it. He said he was obviously distraught when he talked to me about. I can see how Joe did not fully grasp the specifics as they were probably not relayed to him.
"Chef" Tim Dix
November 9th, 2011
7:24 pm
When Joe Paterno became “JoPa” in his own mind, he lost control.
ToccoaDawg
November 9th, 2011
7:27 pm
After whats happened in the Big 10 scandals this year it makes one glad we have Mark Richt as a coach even if he does protect his friends too much who should be fired.
"Chef" Tim Dix
November 9th, 2011
7:28 pm
I really, in my lifetime cannot think of a more sad sporting “event” than this.
Prince haters, tell you this, Vince and 100000 other coaches are above this man we put on the pedestal.
"Chef" Tim Dix
November 9th, 2011
7:31 pm
From Coach, the charactuer, to enabler.
Penn needs to take the statue down.
"Chef" Tim Dix
November 9th, 2011
7:34 pm
He told the AD….
Did he call 911 becuase there was a preditor on campus?
NO!
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
November 9th, 2011
7:35 pm
Ask Vince to ponder this: Let’s say a running back tests positive for illegal substance . . . does the Athletic Department have an obligation to report this to local authorities? Or is the running back coddled and merely suspended for a single game and asked to apologize to the fans for his “mistake”? A little dog can see the difference in how people think on these matters. Breaking team rules and the law is one thing UGA needs to reconcile with but what happened at Penn State was unconscionable. If I was mascot there I wouldn’t show up on Saturday.
oldfart
November 9th, 2011
7:47 pm
Michael Adams did Dooley a kindness.
Black Mountain NC Bulldog
November 9th, 2011
7:48 pm
I have friends who are PSU grads and they all say Joe PA, should not coach another game. And that he is a stubborn old man, who usually gets his way. I expect to see him coaching them Saturday.
More importantly lets all take time to pray, for all of the victims, in this case.
Auburn is in the way,
figures
November 9th, 2011
8:10 pm
Everyone should take a minute to visit the Second Mile website.
http://www.thesecondmile.org/programsAndServices/prevention/prevPeak.php
This is no backyard tree house charity, it is large and many luminaries are involved. Take time to look at the kids in the photos and maybe it will help focus outrage to the crime not the alleged cover up. While there seems no doubt of Sandusky’s depravity I’ll wait for a few more facts to come out before I direct venom at JoePa. If JoePa is dirty then history will be quite cruel to his legacy.
gt4ever
November 9th, 2011
8:13 pm
“There is no perfect program,” he said. “There never will be.”
If this situation wasn’t so Pathetic….. Vince Dooley, what a pathetic excuse or attempt to rationalize this travesty…. But hey, this is coming from one of the biggest cheats in college football… What does Vince Dooley know about honor and integrity, NOTHING!
figures
November 9th, 2011
8:13 pm
Our
Board of Directors: Honorary Board
John R. Cappelletti – Retired PSU & NFL Football Player, Heisman Trophy Winner
R. R. M. Carpenter, III – Former Owner, Philadelphia Phillies
James E. Ford – Retired Vice President, Kmart
William A. Gettig – President, Gettig Technologies, Inc.
Jack Ham – Retired NFL Player, Pittsburgh Steelers, Hall of Fame
Franco Harris – Retired NFL Player, Pittsburgh Steelers, Hall of Fame
Lou Holtz – Retired Football Coach, Sportscaster, and Motivational Speaker
Dr. Bryce Jordan – Retired, Penn State University President
Willi Maier – President, Omni Plastics, Inc.
Matt Millen – ESPN Football Analyst
Arnold D. Palmer – President, Arnold Palmer Enterprises
Joseph V. Paterno – Head Football Coach, Penn State University
Andy Reid – Head Football Coach, Philadelphia Eagles
Dr. John Reidell – General Surgeon, Past Second Mile Board President
Cal Ripken, Jr. – Former ML Baseball Shortstop, President & CEO of Ripken Baseball, Inc.
Dominic Toscani – Owner & President, Paris Business Forms
Richard Vermeil – Retired NFL Head Coach, (Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia Eagles)
Mark Wahlberg – Actor, Rapper, and Film & TV Producer
Verne Willaman – Retired Chairman and President, Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp.
Quentin Wood – Retired Chairman and CEO, Quaker State Oil Refining Corp.
Richard A. Zimmerman – Retired Chairman of the Board, Hershey Foods
LakeDawg
November 9th, 2011
8:17 pm
“Should one failure of conscience or wisdom override a half-century of good work?”
No, of course not Even Joe Paterno is not a perfect man…but he’s closer than 99.9 % of the population and that’s worth remembering.
————————————————————————————————————————————
If that’s true then we’re in bad shape. Paterno is not the saint he was made out to be. He’s stayed 20 years too long out of pure selfish ego. This purveyor of all good things in college athletics was a Woody Hayes clone a few years ago when he went through that bad losing spell. Chasing referees down and bumping them. Bad mouthing officials in press conferences and allowing a player charged with rape to play. Its always been about HIS ego. I believe he started his career with good intentions, but morphed into something else. This incident actually fits the pattern, though in a drastically more agregious manner. Even I didn’t see this one coming.
It will eventually come out that Paterno WAS PSU. They tried to move him out a few years ago and couldn’t. He was the most powerful man on campus. Why do you think that McQueary and his father went to Paterno first? If this was covered up, it was because Paterno wanted it that way.
doc
November 9th, 2011
8:18 pm
doing the right thing isnt always as simple as we want it to be in our glass houses:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/09/mental-health-worker-fired-child-porn_n_1084381.html?1320875003&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk1%7C111327
LakeDawg
November 9th, 2011
8:27 pm
doing the right thing isnt always as simple as we want it to be in our glass houses:
————————————————————————————————————————————–
Its actually very simple if your committed to doing the right thing in life. Then you have no choice in your mind but doing the right thing, no matter the consequence. However, our society has promoted selfishness. So people are constantly rationalizing their selfish impulses with thoughts like “doing the right thing isn’t always…simple.”
dawg4u
November 9th, 2011
8:34 pm
Would it be an “unfortunate” situation if it were Dooley’s grandson or the absolute worst most horrific crime that could be committed against my family short of murder?
DawgDad
November 9th, 2011
8:35 pm
The combination of the Cain media storm and the Paterno media storm is making me very disappointed and very uneasy with the media and many, many people in our nation. The vulture rush to tear apart the character and reputation of honorable people is – sick.
We clearly are no longer a Judeo-Christian nation; i.e., a society with behavioral norms based on Judeo-Christian teaching. The substitute is VERY ugly and dangerous.
My strong suggestion to my fellow Americans – cool your emotions, especially when it comes to judging other people. Ultimately, you may one day yourself stand in judgment, and perhaps receive the same treatment (the Golden Rule thing). Let the facts come out, and don’t be led [astray] by the shill media hacks earning their living trumpeting the misfortune of others. When the facts come out we’ll most likely know if Joe Paterno was involved in a coverup and to what extent. Your rush to judgment will leave a LOT of collateral damage – for one thing, there are a lot of kids on that campus and around the country who will be learning a big life lesson watching this play out. Sure, tell them JoePa should have called the cops, or followed up and questioned the judgment of his superiors, but also do them a favor and convey why he might have acted in the manner he did (please make an effort to understand that first).
Remember the Duke Rape case. Things are not always what they appear, nor what people hope them to be. Yes, people in high places can be corrupt and evil, but they are not all corrupt and evil. The only sure thing is nobody is perfect.
We all want to protect kids (except the crazies among us), but it’s not always as easy or cut-and-dried as it seems. I just read a report in the AJC about a kid getting beat senseless in an Atlanta schoolroom, by other students, with a substitute teacher assigned and the Principal supposedly out for training or something. Who at the school called the cops? Apparently no one. Where is your voice on that? I guess there’s no sport in trashing some anonymous teacher or administrator.
The hot seat....
November 9th, 2011
8:39 pm
gt4ever
November 9th, 2011
8:13 pm
“…this is coming from one of the biggest cheats in college football…”
Two words for you – George O’Leary
Brainiac(Dawg for life)(CMR fan for life)
November 9th, 2011
8:42 pm
@Russ Temporary Mascot: Put a sock in it and go back to licking your private parts
Brainiac(Dawg for life)(CMR fan for life)
November 9th, 2011
8:47 pm
No way we should wait until the FACTS are available. I say buy some damn rope and head up to Penn State. May as well get enough rope for Vince and CMR too.
LowriderMike
November 9th, 2011
8:49 pm
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/uploadedFiles/Press/Sandusky-Grand-Jury-Presentment.pdf
Big Dawg
November 9th, 2011
8:49 pm
Yes it is an unfortunate situation, they all should be charged as Coach McQueary had a responsibility to stop the rape of that young boy and then immediately notify the police. Next Coach Paterno and the AD had an obligation as well to report it to the police.
gt4ever
November 9th, 2011
8:51 pm
Hot Seat,
Nothing even close, but let’s not take the light off what really was a tragedy! I’m not surprised at Vince Dooley’s response…. He certainly has proven he doesn’t have the cahunas to call his friend exactly what he is…….. Joe Pa should serve time, as should every low life coward that was involved in allowing this monster to continue abusing kids for years after the fact….. Pathetic!
bitter joe pa
November 9th, 2011
8:53 pm
darn if you do—darn if you dont——————–nobody wins here—————-stop throwing stones
————-look what happened to our “D” after sand left—-retired———————down hill
——————–it all came down to winning –vs—-loosing
concern
November 9th, 2011
8:54 pm
Hope there is no stature of the coach. If so not only him but the stature need to go.
Sharkman
November 9th, 2011
8:56 pm
Mark, Dooley was 58 years old when he retired in 1988, not 56.
bitter dawgs fan
November 9th, 2011
8:58 pm
@gtforever—————–go f@#$%$ yourself —attack coach dooly and a curse too you maggit
gt4ever
November 9th, 2011
9:01 pm
bitter
don’t let something like the truth get in your way…. You sure do make the dawg nation proud!..
The hot seat....
November 9th, 2011
9:03 pm
gt4ever
November 9th, 2011
8:51 pm
I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments on Joe Pa and the others at PSU who did nothing.
And O’Leary was a liar.
LakeDawg Nailed It
November 9th, 2011
9:04 pm
LakeDawg’s post at 8:27 nailed it. Paterno stuck around for the last 15+ years for his own glorification. He doesn’t coach any more. He can’t even drive himself to the school. He’s a figurehead. They might as well make him their mascot. He has stuck around 20 years past his retirement age for his own glorification. And that is exactly why he covered up this travesty. Nothing could stand in the way of his deification. He was the most powerful man on campus and one of the most powerful in the state and Joe said these children will be swept under the rug. I hope they sweep his ass to jail.
dawg4u
November 9th, 2011
9:07 pm
@Sharkman – Dooley was 56 years old – born in 1932 – google Dooley on Wiki or check it out.
The hot seat....
November 9th, 2011
9:08 pm
LakeDawg Nailed It
November 9th, 2011
9:04 pm
I always felt that Paterno and Bobby Bowden were sticking around to see who could become the “all time winningest coach”, but at least Bowden gave the impression he was coherent and could still coach.
LakeDawg
November 9th, 2011
9:23 pm
There is one thing that we can count on here. After Ohio State and now Penn State, the Big 10 can’t cast aspersions on the SEC anymore.
The hot seat....
November 9th, 2011
9:32 pm
LakeDawg
November 9th, 2011
9:23 pm
Boo yah!!
The hot seat....
November 9th, 2011
9:38 pm
concern
ovember 9th, 2011
8:54 pm
Unfortunately there is a statue of Paterno.
The hot seat....
November 9th, 2011
10:21 pm
Just heard that Paterno is out effective immediately. No “going out his way” crap.
Dr. Morpheus
November 9th, 2011
10:22 pm
Paterno is gone- Penn State did the right thing… finally