Court documents: Jay Paterno asked Ohio State's Urban Meyer for job
The son of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno sent a handwritten letter to Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer in December asking for a job, according to court documents obtained by Pennlive.com.
The letter from Jay Paterno, dated Dec.23, was released in court documents on Monday, as part of legal battle between the estate of Joe Paterno and the NCAA.
In the letter, Paterno congratulates Meyer on his success at the school and wishes him luck in the College Football Playoff. Ohio State went on to win the national championship in a victory over Oregon.
“This note is also to express my interest in any coaching positions that have opened and may open on your staff in the future," Paterno wrote in the letter. "My father had tremendous respect for you and I share that respect as well. It would be an honor to be a part of your staff."
Paterno also sent similar letters to West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen and Georgia coach Mark Richt, according to the court documents.
There is a separate lawsuit filed by Paterno and former Penn State offensive line coach Bill Kenney against the NCAA and Penn State University.
Paterno (who was the team's quarterbacks coach for 12 years) and Kenney allege that in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal their careers were irreparably damaged, and seek more than $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Joe Paterno was fired by the school in Nov. 2011 because of the scandal and died of lung cancer two months later.
Jay Paterno and Kenney were fired by Bill O'Brien, the man hired to replace Joe Paterno, about two weeks before Joe Paterno died.
Sandusky was eventually convicted on 45 counts of sexually abusing young boys in 2012 and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in jail.
Jay Paterno has not coached since being fired by Penn State. Kenney is the offensive line coach at Western Michigan.
- Scooby Axson
