Blue White Illustrated

Vanderlinden's stewardship revived Linebacker U N o matter what the reasons are for the departure of linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden, he is going to be missed by Penn State fans. Over the past decade, Vanderlinden became one of the most popular assistants on the Penn State coaching staff. Some might even claim he was the favorite of the Nittany Nation or at least the equal of defensive line coach Larry Johnson and former defensive coordinator Tom Bradley. All three are extremely personable in their interactions with fans and the media, and they also are outstanding recruiters. Moreover, in the case of Vanderlinden and Johnson, who have been position coaches during their Penn State tenure, they develop above-average players, as well as some exceptional ones who become All-Americans and/or go on to play in the NFL. Before Vanderlinden joined Joe Paterno's staff in 2001, Penn State's linebacker talent was thin, and its recruitment of superior linebackers was slipping. Until LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short were selected first-team AllAmericans (Arrington in 1998 and '99, Short in '99), Penn State had only two other first-team All-America linebackers since Kurt Allerman in 1976: Shane Conlan in 1985 and '86 and Andre Collins in 1989. What Vanderlinden did in the next 13 years was to rejuvenate Penn State's reputation as Linebacker U, a reputation that originated with the work of its first linebackers coach, Dan Radakovich, who produced Dennis Onkotz and Jack Ham. One could easily rate Vanderlinden as Penn State's best linebackers coach, although I am still partial to Radakovich because I know what he did to give Penn State the esteemed title that it has enjoyed for nearly 50 years. I'm also biased because I helped Dan write his recently published autobiography, "Bad Rad: Football Nomad." So, if Rad is first, Vanderlinden is certainly second in my mind, and that's not because the Lions' other ultra-successful linebackers coach is now spending the rest of his life in prison. Radakovich taught Jerry Sandusky how to coach linebackers when Rad left the coaching staff after Penn State's undefeated 1968 and '69 seasons, and that is a fact. I don't know who taught Vanderlinden the techniques, intricacies and strategy of linebacking, but he has built an impressive resume, starting with his coaching of Pat Fitzergald, now Northwestern's head coach, when Vanderlinden was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Northwestern from 1992-96. By the time Fitzgerald graduated, he had won both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's outstanding defensive player in 1995 and '96. The only other player to win the Bednarik Award twice is Vanderlinden's first star pupil at Penn State, Paul Posluszny, who won it in 2005 and in '06. In addition, Posluszny won the Butkus Award both of those years. Dan Connor, an All-American in 2006 and '07, also won the Bednarik Award under Vanderlinden. Posluszny (Jacksonville) and Connor (Carolina) are among the Vanderlinden proteges who now rank among the best linebackers in the NFL, a list that also includes Sean Lee (Dallas), NaVorro Bowman (San Francisco) and linebackerturned-defensive-end Cameron (Derek) Wake (Miami). Then there's All-American Michael Mauti and All-Big Ten player Gerald Hodges, who are now with Minnesota, and such lesser-known pros as Tim Shaw, Nate Stupar and Josh Hull. No other linebackers coach in college football can match the prestige of that group. Vanderlinden recruited or helped recruit some of those NFL linebackers and such other position players as Bill Belton, Devon Still and – drum beat – Allen Robinson, the Big Ten Receiver of the Year for the past two seasons. The 2013 season was a great one for Robinson but not for Penn State's thin linebacker corps, which was hampered by injuries and a lack of depth. Nor was it a good year for the Nittany Lions' special teams, which probably cost Penn State at least two potential victories. Since Vanderlinden also was in charge of special teams along with running backs coach Charles London, there has been a bit of conjecture in the media and by fans that he may have been the scapegoat for that deficiency, especially on the kickoff team. If so, it is disingenuous to blame Vanderlinden for a kickoff team made up primarily of walk-ons with various abilities and a kicker who is inconsistent in booting the ball out of the end zone to prevent returns. However, it's unlikely that problems with the special teams would be the sole reason behind the departure of, arguably, the foremost college linebacker coach in the nation. No one is indispensible, but a couple of Penn State beat reporters with credible, if anonymous, sources have speculated that Vanderlinden simply no longer fit Bill O'Brien's coaching style and philosophy. That's plausible, because Penn State football today is radically different from the Paterno era and from Vanderlinden's past experience as an assistant at Northwestern and Colorado and his four years as head coach at Maryland. Perhaps Vanderlinden is perceived as too "old school." There also may have been a personality clash with O'Brien and some of his other assistants. In the frenetic and sometimes profane atmosphere that

• Cover