Jay Paterno out at Penn State

Updated: Tuesday, 10 Jan 2012, 6:15 PM CST
Published : Tuesday, 10 Jan 2012, 6:15 PM CST

(NewsCore) - Another Paterno is on his way out at Penn State.

Assistant football coach Jay Paterno, the son of legendary former coach Joe Paterno, will not return to the team next season, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday.

Jay Paterno, who served as an assistant under his father for 17 seasons, said he met with newly-minted head coach Bill O'Brien this week and the two "reached the conclusion that I will not be a part of the Penn State football staff moving forward."

O'Brien was hired last week to replace Joe Paterno, who served as the Nittany Lions' head coach for 45 years before being dismissed Nov. 9 in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal. Paterno was fired a week after becoming the winningest coach in Division I football history.

The 42-year-old O'Brien, who is completing his duties as offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots during the NFL playoffs, was expected to make several coaching changes in the coming weeks as he finalized his staff for the 2012 season.

Jay Paterno issued a statement Tuesday, thanking the Penn State community for its years of support.

"Through the tumult of the past several weeks, it has been your stalwart support combined with life lessons learned from Joe Paterno that has and continue to sustain us," he said.

"I wish the program the best of luck in carrying on the academic and athletic excellence that have been a hallmark of this university for decades."

Tom Bradley, who took over the Penn State football program on an interim basis upon Joe Paterno's ousting, could learn his fate in the coming days. Bradley spent 33 years as an assistant under Paterno before assuming the iconic coach's duties for the final four games of the season.

Read more: Philadelphia Inquirer