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Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno's death at 85 -- a mere two months after he was fired -- marks another example of a legendary figure passing shortly after leaving his job.
Paterno was officially fired on Nov. 9th for his role in the Jerry Sandusky scandal and died just a little over two months later on Jan. 22nd due to complications from lung cancer. The long-time Penn State coach initially offered to retire at the end of the season -- hoping to go out on his own terms -- before getting a call from a Board of Trustees member that his services were no longer needed.
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Paterno's death didn't come as a major shock for a multitude of reasons.
One was that those close to him knew he was suffering from complications from lung cancer and that his health had recently slipped.
But those with just a pulse on history could tell you that it wouldn't be long after Paterno's inevitable retirement before he would pass away. It may sound morbid now, but long before the Sandusky scandal irrevocably changed Paterno's legacy, I had conversations with various folks and told them that his death wouldn't be longer than six months after whenever he decided to retire.
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I didn't pretend to know the most intimate details of Paterno's health, but knew that certain figures would only walk away from their beloved job if they knew it was nearing the end. Alabama's legendary coach Bear Bryant died less than a month after retiring from the school he made famous.
Bryant even ominously panned that he'd "probably croak in a week" when asked what he would do in retirement.
Paterno had those same fears, according to ABC Sports' Brent Musburger. The long-time sportscaster and friend of Paterno told the Dan Patrick Show in 2008 that Paterno refused to walk away from Penn State because he feared he'd have the same outcome as Bryant.
"This is a tough one for me because I have to say up front that JoePa is a dear friend of mine...I'll tell your listeners the truth as to why he still does it," Musburger said about why Paterno had held on for so long. "He is fearful - and he looks back at Bear Bryant as the example - he is fearful that he would not be with us if he stepped away. He is a man that doesn't fish, doesn't play golf...he has no other interest other than his family and football. And he's just afraid what would happen with the rest of his life if he walks away from it."
Paterno didn't get a chance to leave on his own terms, but nonetheless died very soon after his departure from State College. The old school coach's death is very similar to another old school legend that recently passed away -- "60 Minutes" commentator Andy Rooney.
Rooney died on Nov. 5th -- just days before Paterno was fired -- from complications due to an undisclosed surgery. What was remarkable about Rooney's death is that it occurred a mere month after he officially retired from "60 Minutes" and issued his final televised commentary.
Rooney was still going into the office close to five times a week to write toward the end of his career, even though the popular television newsmagazine would rarely use his pieces. The lovable curmudgeon was told to step down from his position at the end of the "60 Minutes" broadcast for years, but held on -- just like Paterno did for so long at Penn State.
The Emmy Award winner's death was sad, but not surprising for similar reasons that Paterno's death shouldn't have shocked us. The average observer knew that for Rooney to step away from a job he cared about so much; his health must have been failing.
The deaths of Rooney and Paterno shortly after leaving their long-time careers show how difficult it is to move on from the very thing that made up their essence and fame. Even Steve Jobs, who dealt with public battles with cancer at-times, died shortly after leaving his post as CEO of Apple.
Jobs was as hands-on as he could possibly be at Apple and when he decided to retire on August 24th those close to him suggested that the end might be near. Similar to Paterno and Rooney, Jobs died on only a few months later on Oct. 5th from pancreatic cancer.
All of these legends -- Paterno, Bryant, Rooney, and Jobs -- stayed at their jobs until the very end because of how much they had to give to the profession and how much it gave back to them. All of these men had lives outside of their profession, but it was clear that the passion they had for their job is what kept them going all those years.
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