This is a misconception. Joe and PSU did not force JS out after 1998. Joe told him he was spending too much time with the second mile and that he would never be the HC at PSU.
At the time, the state was offering a sweetheart retirement deal for state employees, and JS took it. With no defensive coordinator, PSU hired JS back for one year in 1999 as an independent contractor.
At that time, JS was in serious negotiations with UVA for their head coaching position. If the Jets hadn’t lost nearly every game in the last half of that season he would have had the job if he wanted it. Al Groh bailed on the Jets before he was fired and jumped JS for the UVA job.
Why do you think PSU told Sandusky he would never become the head coach. That is a signal to resign/retire in those types of jobs. That is how you force someone out.
Saying Sanduski coulda woulda shoulda have gotten the UVa job is meaningless. Not everyone is Rutgers. I suspect that UVa would have caught wind of the investigation and not touched Sandusky. College do not hire people in even semi high profile positions like faculty members after such an investigation.