The stress of being terminated from the position he held for more than 40 years may have contributed to the declining health of Penn State’s former head football coach, some experts said.

According to one of the country’s leading forensic pathologists, Cyril Wecht, the “severe” stress former coach Joe Paterno was under over the last several months may have contributed to his death.

Following complications related to his lung cancer, Paterno died of “metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung” — in other words, spreading lung cancer — at the hospital Sunday, according to a press release from Mount Nittany Medical Center.

The Paterno family also released a statement that morning that said, “He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life has been.”

Paterno died 74 days after he was fired as Penn State’s head football coach. Several days before he was removed from his position, former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with child sexual abuse. Some of the incidents connected to Sandusky’s charges occurred on Penn State’s campus, according to the grand jury reports connected to the case.

Wecht said stress elevates blood pressure and leads to some enlargement of the heart. Any stressful situation places a greater demand on the heart, which may have been too much for the 85-year-old man’s body to handle, Wecht said.

Though Wecht said he believes Paterno’s lung cancer would have eventually taken a turn for the worse, the stress of the situation surrounding the Sandusky case and his firing could have “sped up the process.”

Steven Berglas, a Los Angeles-based psychologist, said he believes Paterno’s death was a result of his loss of position as a football coach.

After reading countless studies about people who “retire, clean up their desk and drop dead,” Berglas said Paterno’s death was “no surprise.”

“Even if he was in perfect health the day before he died, being fired would have killed him,” Berglas said. “This was not a job for him — he lost his reason for living.”

For the past several years, Paterno fought as ostentatiously as a 20-year-old to keep his job when alumni, students and faculty said he was too old, Berglas said.

Berglas called Paterno the “human embodiment of Penn State football.”

He said losing the job that meant so much to Paterno could have made it harder for him to cope with his cancer.

James Quick, U. Texas at Arlington professor of organizational behavior, echoed Berglas’ theory.

“His purpose in life was done, and therefore his life was over,” Quick said.

Quick said former U. Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, also died less than 75 days after leaving college football.

Bryant had 323 wins as a head football coach. Paterno currently holds the record for most win in NCAA Division I College Football history with 409.

“Bryant and Paterno both lost their motivation for living,” Quick said. “Football meant everything to them.”