Have Spanier and Paterno "stayed too long at the fair"?

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The Chronicle of Higher Education reported yesterday that Spanier intends to make a fight of it.
http://chronicle.com/article/As-Students-Call-for/129694/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

A source told the Chronicle, "Graham (Spanier) believes he never had any indication that a sexual assault occurs." He "believes" this? Is it the kind of thing that slips your mind?

The drumbeat for his resignation or firing intensified yesterday:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-400_162-57320467/pa-newspapers-paterno-psu-prez-should-resign/

http://www.ydr.com/psu/ci_19290156

Two thoughts occur to me.

First, this is the same old story... the one that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades now. It's the cover up that kills you. Face the facts, clean the house, come what may. Whether this scandal reaches Paterno and Spanier or stops with the AD and VP, who are already indicted, this is a reprise of the Catholic tragedy on a smaller scale.

Second, there's such a thing as staying too long at the fair. No matter how great the chief executive or the head coach, he or she cannot hold on forever. Age comes to us all. And with age comes inevitable missteps. Sometimes--- often, I suspect --- those misjudgments arise out of arrogance. We have seen it with politicians, labor leaders, and many others. Some of you old-timers out there may remember Woody Hayes, the icon of Ohio State football, who was forcibly retired after he popped a player. John Lewis, the titanic leader of the United MIne Workers, overreached when he called a strike in the midst of World War II.

Papa Joe stayed around to set the all-time Division One win record. Who could blame him? I wonder if it will have been worth it. I wonder if an earlier retirement would have shielded him from this scandal in any case. My bro' and I were debating yesterday whether, now, he will be remembered as the NCAA's winningest Div. I gridiron coach, or as the guy who had a child molester as his defensive coordinator. We'll see.

As for Spanier, he's had a great run as PSU prez, though some observers might say he's been a bit of a megalomaniac. I mean, a world-wide Penn State? I have believed for a long time that PSU's endless expansion has hurt some of the many fine small liberal arts colleges in the Keystone State, as well as duplicating the mission of the 14 other state universities in PA.

Be all that as it may, and whether or not Spanier knew about Sandusky, it may simply be time for a change at the top. That seems to be where the PA Senate Majority leader is heading:
http://pittsburgh.sbnation.com/penn-st-nittany-lions/2011/11/8/2548038/penn-state-scandal-graham-spanier-jerry-sandusky