We have a number of folks at my company who have been hired from a similar background. Mainframe skills are pretty obsolete. There are still lots of mainframes but no one is retiring and when someone does, they don't replace them. unfortunately, his skills are obsolete. He must face this issue squarely and understand that his salary WILL go down. I would suggest consider downsizing his house and expenses dramatically.
In the IT industry you are only as good as what you did 18 months ago. If he has sales experience, consider consulting. If customers aren't his bag, stay as far from consulting as he can. One poster above described IT as a depression. It is that and more. Jobs are scarce as hen's teeth and there are no hopeful signs out there.
If I was him, I would seriously consider a complete job change. His skills are so antiquated that finding a job in such a depressed industry would be hard. Instead, he should concentrate on a new line of work and slowly begin his transition to retirement. Is what he knows valuable? Certainly, but he picked the wrong time to look.
Email me directly if you want more info on consulting. Take care and wish him the best. It is tough for all of us, even us younger guys who still have to remake everything year after year. Personal advise: if you let your IT skills stagnate, kiss your career goodbye. It is a brutal market.
First, it is "Old Professer", not Old Professor, second, it's asshole, not di*ckhead (see post #34).