Matt Campbell not shying away from Joe Paterno's legacy at Penn State

It's a complicated legacy, without a doubt. The shadows of the end of the Joe Paterno era have hung over the Penn State Nittany Lions for years now.

On one hand, Paterno was a coach who knew how to win football games, and he brought a ton of football success to Happy Valley.

Paterno was a legend in that regard. He coached at Penn State from 1966 to 2011 and went 409-136-3 in that time period. He was a two-time national champion, a three-time Big Ten champion and one of the most iconic coaches in sports, let alone in college football.

On the other hand, Paterno was fired in November 2011 after an investigation found that a former prominent assistant, Jerry Sandusky, had been having inappropriate contact with underage boys and was using the Penn State program as a shield.

Sandusky was indicted on counts of sex crimes against young boys and was ultimately convicted of 45 of the 48 counts against him. 

The allegations against Paterno were that he had been aware of Sandusky's behavior as far back as 1976, per ESPN, but never addressed them.

New coach wants to 'understand our past'

Paterno died a few months after his firing. Later, a statue of the legendary head coach outside Beaver Stadium was taken down.

Bill O'Brien and James Franklin, the next two head coaches in Happy Valley, tried to distance the football program from Paterno.

That's apparently not going to be the case with new Penn State head coach Matt Campbell, though. Campbell has a photo of Paterno in his office. He invited Paterno's widow, Sue, to address the team.

He's more than happy about the "Paterno Family Football Experience Room" that Penn State just opened up at its sports museum.

“I think from my end of it, it means the world to me to understand our history, to understand our past," Campbell said of the exhibit on Wednesday.