Liz, you may know that I've posted extensively on the Penn State monstrosity. By sometime on Monday the 7th, I stated that both Paterno and Spanier had to go.
Respectfully, Paterno was not one of the lowest-paid college coaches in the country. His base salary is much lower than that of a double handful of the high profile coaches who have been recruited to major programs in the last decade, such as Saban or Brown. But in some of those cases, like Saban, a once-powerful program (Alabama) was bidding to lure an NFL coach away and back into college football to restore a program. Paterno was at Penn State for 46 years and was never going to threaten to leave to bargain for a higher base salary. Part of his mystique was he wasn't driven by money.
And Paterno probably quadrupled his base salary with perquisites and endorsements, and free cars from dealers, and he likely never paid for a meal when he went out to eat, and . . . well, money wasn't an issue.
As for Spanier, he was the New Kid On The Scene. The Second Mile, Sandusky, and Paterno were around before Spanier was President. Sandusky and Paterno together, for over twenty years.
Spanier didn't try to get rid of Paterno; it was the Board of Trustees, when Paterno turned 78. The Board asked him to resign due to age. Paterno simply said 'no' and went about his business.
Finally, what we are losing in all of this is just how large The Second Mile was and how it had outgrown Jerry Sanduky in the last 35 years or so. Over 100,000 kids were served by the organization. This was a huge organization that was supported by every politician, policeman, businessman, judge, attorney, academician, and youth sports coach in the community. It had an official/unofficial connection with Penn State at some point. In a college town where the football program was the hub of the wheel for decades, The Second Mile was tied to the football program through the Second Most Powerful Man in Penn State football. While Jerry Sandusky used The Second Mile as his own WalMart for little boys, and other pedophiles may have as well, it appears that The Second Mile grew to become a huge, legitimate charity, with a national presence in the sports world, known by name to anyone in the Penn State political and football sphere.
I'm curious as to your source suggesting that Spanier tried to get rid of Paterno "shortly after his arrival." Spanier was at Penn State as a professor from 1973 to 1982, then came back as President in 1995. I'm unfamiliar with any efforts to oust Paterno around 1995. I only know of the effort by the Board of Trustees in 2005, when Paterno turned 78.
For sure, Spanier did NOT hang out a sign saying he was out to get Paterno.
It took years for Sandusky to be outed.
Pedophiles and sexual deviants are very cunning——they operate well below the radar. They are very proud that they are able to gain the trust of (and to continually dupe) those around them.
As the saying goes: “Satan’s biggest trick is convincing people he does not exist.”
Those familiar with his activities have said Spanier was looking to oust JoePa.
WRT Paterno’s pay-—everything is relative said Einstein-—and considering his stature and winning ability, Paterno was most certainly low paid——compared to less gifted coaches.