"What If?" - Devine, Paterno...and George Allen?

[Fritz]

Here's the link to an interesting article on the crucial moment in Packers' history when it was clear Bengston was not going to work out, and the team needed a new direction:

http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20111118/PKR07/111118122/Pete-Dougherty-column-What-Packers-had-chosen-Paterno-over-erratic-Devine-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

The focus is on the "what if" aspect had the team hired Paterno - would he have brought Jerry Sandusky?

But my interest lies more in something only briefly mentioned in the article: that the Packers had targeted the great George Allen as their next head coach. He'd been fired by the Rams despite a great record, and you old-timers will remember that he then went on to coach the Redskins - very successfully - in the 1970's with the "Over the Hill" gang.

The article only says the Pack targeted Allen but it didn't work out; the article doesn't say why. I'd love to know if any of you have any insight. Also, while Allen loved his vets and traded away picks (I think) to get vets, he made it work and his players seemed to love him, if I recall.

The Pack might have had a far better decade in the 70's had Allen come to Green Bay.

They might have, too, had they chosen Paterno (by the way I didn't know the great Tony Canadeo was on the Exec Committee), but it's harder to say. He had no track record in the pros at all. But Allen did - and it was a damn good one.

[Fritz]

Hey, Fritz, great question for us hard core fans and old-timers. I did a little research to refresh my memory, and it sure looks like the Packers would've benefitted by paying the man and bringing him to
Green Bay. Between 1971 - 77 as the 'Skins coach, Allen's teams made the playoffs five out of the seven years. Sure, they never got to the SB, and his playoff record during that run was 2 - 5, but refresh my memory - how many playoff appearances did Green Bay have from 71 - 77? Oh, that's right. One.

He liked his old timers, so I think his magic maybe inevitably ran out, but he was good for a number of years. I never did understand why he didn't get another gig after the Washington stretch.

Vince? Patler? Harlan? PB? Some of you other old-timers have any insight as to what kept the Pack from hiring Allen? It appears the Packers wanted their coaches to be GM's anyway (Devine was, as was Starr after that), so what held it all up?

[yooperfan]

This is from packershistory.net


Other rumored candidates included Notre Dame head coach Ara Parseghian and several former and current Packers - Dave Hanner, Forrest Gregg and Bart Starr. George Allen was reportedly the first choice for the Packers before agreeing to his deal with the Redskins

Sounds like Allen decided on the the Washington job instead.

[HowardRoark]

That's a great question Fritz!

See page 5 for Tony information.

http://packerrats.com/showthread.php?20377-OFFICIAL-PACKERS-LEGENDS-THREAD/page5

[TravisWilliams23]

Hey, Fritz, great question for us hard core fans and old-timers. I did a little research to refresh my memory, and it sure looks like the Packers would've benefitted by paying the man and bringing him to
Green Bay. Between 1971 - 77 as the 'Skins coach, Allen's teams made the playoffs five out of the seven years. Sure, they never got to the SB, and his playoff record during that run was 2 - 5, but refresh my memory - how many playoff appearances did Green Bay have from 71 - 77? Oh, that's right. One.

He liked his old timers, so I think his magic maybe inevitably ran out, but he was good for a number of years. I never did understand why he didn't get another gig after the Washington stretch.

Vince? Patler? Harlan? PB? Some of you other old-timers have any insight as to what kept the Pack from hiring Allen? It appears the Packers wanted their coaches to be GM's anyway (Devine was, as was Starr after that), so what held it all up?

Fritz, I think Allen's team got beat by the 72 Dolphins 14-7 in the Super Bowl.

Sure would have been great to see what he could have done in Green Bay.

As for Paterno, I don't think Joe would have been successful in the NFL. He made the right choice not to go to the Patriots and stay at Penn State. Kind of reminds me of Steve Spurrier. Good college coach-not so good NFL coach.

[Fritz]

No wonder Geroge Allen didn't get the job. This line about Canadeo is nearly identical to a line in the article about Paterno's appeal for the Packers: "The two [Lombardi and Canadeo] shared Italian heritage and Catholic religion in a town very different from where both grew up."

So I guess back in those days, finding a coach for Green Bay meant finding an Italian Catholic. Man, they shoulda been scouring the Pope League in Italy! They coulda had John Paul I. Sure, he reigned for only 33 days as pope, but if the Pack had hired him in '71, he woulda had seven good years roaming the Packer sidelines.

[Harlan Huckleby]

As for Paterno, I don't think Joe would have been successful in the NFL. He made the right choice not to go to the Patriots and stay at Penn State. Kind of reminds me of Steve Spurrier. Good college coach-not so good NFL coach. Paterno been would have been great pro coach too. He is not the u-rah-rah or screaming type that often tanks in pros

[smuggler]

Hard to tell. We will never know, but some guys can make the jump, so why not JoPa?