It’s hard to argue that Penn State’s administration could have handled Patrick Chambers’ ouster much worse, and that we haven’t seen the last of its effects.
The encouraging thing? In the grand scheme of things, it won’t matter much.
When athletic director Sandy Barbour chose to part ways with Chambers last October, it not only left Penn State’s players and remaining coaches scrambling to get ready for the season, without any real answers, but it also cast a pall over the Nittany Lions’ future, effectively putting the parking brake on recruiting. Jim Ferry and the remaining staff and the players deserve a lot of credit for a collective effort that won’t put Penn State in the NCAA Tournament but did earn the respect of fans and Big Ten peers.
Poorly timed as it may have been, though, Barbour’s decision also opened a door of opportunity for a program that can still count the highlights in its 29-year Big Ten history on one hand: The Nittany Lions now have the chance to hire a difference-making coach and, perhaps more importantly, the chance to pay him like one.
