From Mike Freeman of CBS Sports...
One NFC scout was asked how he felt about Joe Paterno leaving.
"I hate to see any of this stuff happening," the scout said, "but people in my line of work won't miss him."
The reason? Paterno was notorious for his abuse of scouts and personnel men who tried to interview players or the staff in preparation for the NFL draft and free agency
None of this stuff compares to the grand ugliness that happened at the school regarding molestation charges but it does open a small window -- a tiny one -- into how tight control Paterno had at the school.
It wasn't unusual for scouts to set up an appointment to speak with a player or group of players, or even Paterno himself, only to find after traveling to campus Paterno would cancel all appointments.
Eventually, I'm told, scouts were only allowed to come on certain open dates. Sometimes they'd be allowed to watch practice, sometimes not. Paterno had his favorites and would let certain scouts he liked or thought were friends of the program have better access to the team than others.
"Penn State was one of the worst places to try and do your job," said the scout.
Dan Shonka, a former scout, tweeted recently: "I have received several e-mails from retired and present #NFL scouts that reminded me that #JoePaterno hindered us from doing our job at #PennSt How so? #CoachPaterno had a rule that scouts could only visit on open dates and watching prospects during practice was not allowed. Many #scouts blame #PennSt busts over the years on the lack of info #CoachPaterno let out..."
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