Today, the Detroit Lions decided to fire Coach Mariucci.  After three seasons with the Lions, Mariucci accomplished 15 wins.  5 wins per season!!!!  Tired of losing so many games, the Lions decided it was time to move on.  The Nittany Lions should do the same. 

    We all know that Joe Paterno has been coaching Penn State's football team forever.  This year, after winning only seven games in the previous two seasons, JoePa coached Penn State to a 10-1 record.  Penn State is currently ranked # 3 in the BCS and awaits an opponent for a major BCS bowl.  So that's enough for JoePa to relax and keep his job, right?  Not quite. 

    I think the Nittany Lions had a successful season because of JoePa's assistant coaches.  It looks as if JoePa was merely the face you see driving the Penn State bus while someone else is pressing the gas and brake pedals for him.  This year's team is not that much different from those in the past two seasons.  The only changes are Michael Robinson playing every snap as QB and the addition of a great RB in Tony Hunt.  But those two players are not enough for the Nittany Lions to make a U-turn in the right direction.  The whole program appears to be under a new coaching style.  A coaching style that could only be accomplished with a new coaching mentality, as if Paterno had taken a 'Coaching in the 21^st Century' course.  We all know how difficult is to teach new tricks to an old dog; so I don't think it's possible that Paterno changed his coaching style.  

    So Mariucci wasn't great in Detroit, that's a fact.  But he's still a great coach.  I think he had problems with impatient executives who have great expectations for not-so-great talent.  He also had problems with players arguing against each other.  Furthermore, as Paterno did in the previous losing seasons, Mariucci kept switching QBs every other week or even every quarter of a game.  His coaching style, nonetheless, is still a winning style.  He's passionate about football and can still design winning game plans.   

    Now that Michael Robinson is out, as graduating starting QB, and the young, talented Morelli will be in to replace him; that the Nittany Lions have a good running game in the shoulders of Hunt; that Penn State had a dominant season; and that a talented coach, as Mariucci, is out there is the best time to replace JoePa at State College.  It's time to bring new energy to the Nittany Lions and continue building with the strong foundation set by Joe Paterno.  Mariucci will be a great coach to continue Penn State's recognition as a powerhouse college football program.  It's now time for Penn State to make a wise business decision with a successful future in mind.