Jan 11 / Rob

Maybe JMU Should Hire That Paterno Guy

No. Not that Paterno, his son. And not the “lawyer” who tries to coordinate impromptu press conferences via Twitter. We’re talking about Jay Paterno who announced this week that he was leaving the Penn State program after 17 years on the coaching staff. Jay was the quarterbacks coach for the Nittany Lions. It was the same position he held at James Madison University prior to joining his father in Happy Valley. Which obviously leads to this, would you want JMU to hire Paterno to coach JMU’s QBs next season? Because we have it on good authority that the move could be in the works. (Ed. note – Not true. Literally nobody on earth is considering this. We’re bored and desperate to talk football.)

With Justin Thorpe, Jace Edwards, Billy Cosh, already on the roster, and wonder recruit Ian Fischer on the way, JMU could use an experience QB coach to mold them. Paterno might be just the guy to do it. He was JMU’s QB coach under Rip Scherer in 1994. The Dukes starting QB that year was Mike Cawley. Cawley was the team MVP and threw for more yards than any other QB in JMU’s history. He led an explosive JMU offense that year and guided the team to a 10-3 record. They were awarded the Lambert/Meadowlands Cup as the top 1-AA team in the East. The Dukes knocked off Troy State in the playoffs before falling to Marshall in OT in the second round. As someone who watched that JMU team closely, I can assure you the offense was like nothing you’ve seen from JMU the past few years. Cawley could sling it. If Paterno could get similar production from any of the QBs on JMU’s roster, next year’s team would be sick.

This move wouldn’t only benefit JMU, it could be great for Paterno as well. He’d get to step back from the glare of the spotlight, the media scrutiny, and quite frankly from the black cloud that has been hanging over Penn State. Instead he’d get to join an elite FCS level program with a chance to compete for a championship. It might be a great chance for him to focus on football and recharge the batteries. Then he could make a move and start somewhere fresh when the smoke clears in a few years. Seems like a no brainer to me.

7 Comments

leave a comment
  1. Ikenberry203 / Jan 12 2012

    Highly doubt that Jay would take a QB coach position in FCS. Maybe as offensive coordinator, but doubt Mickey will throw Durden under the bus like that.

  2. Ryan / Jan 12 2012

    Actually, he coached under Rip Scherer–who also was an assistant for Penn State prior to JMU. When Wood came at the end of 1994 (spring football) he pretty much cleaned house with the exception of a few. Jay left then. He was a good guy and helped coach Cawley who is one of the best QB’s we ever had. I wouldn’t mind seeing him back, but I somehow doubt it.

  3. WFY / Jan 12 2012

    I don’t see Jay Paterno becoming a FCS position coach. If anything, I think he shoots for the Yale head coaching job. A more likely scenario is a TV gig which would probably pay about as much as a FCS position coach job for a lot less work.

    I could see him being successful at JMU though. Daryll Clark had a pretty good career under JayPa. Michael Robinson’s 2005 season was epic, but not in a traditional QB way. Zack Mills was a pretty good QB who had no protection, nobody to throw to and a injured arm.

  4. Rob / Jan 12 2012

    You’re right Ryan. Rip was coach then. Just a careless mistake on my part. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I corrected it.

  5. Ryan / Jan 12 2012

    That 94 season was a special one. We had a great running back with Kelvin Jeter, two great receivers in Macy Brooks and Jay Jones, and the best tight end in JMU history Ed Perry. Cawley had a great arm and was a very smart QB. I vividly remember a play where he was chased out of the pocket, and off one foot threw the ball 70 yards down field for a completion. Great memories.

  6. WFY / Jan 13 2012

    Yale hired someone else, so he’s still out there JMU!

Trackbacks and Pingbacks

  1. DMV: Ovie’s Monster Hit [VIDEO] | Mr. Irrelevant, a D.C. Sports Blog by the Brothers Mottram
Leave a Comment

%d bloggers like this: