77 year old Joe Paterno get 4 year contract extension from Penn. St.

May 13, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Despite three losing seasons in the last four years, Joe Paterno got a four-year contract extension from Penn State on Thursday that will take him past his 80th birthday. Penn State went 3-9 last season, the worst record in Paterno's 39 seasons as head coach of the Nittany Lions. It was just the fourth losing season since Paterno joined the coaching staff in 1950.
Penn State didn't win a road game for the first time since the 1936 season, and finished below .500 in the Big Ten (1-7) for the first time since joining the conference for the 1993 season.
"I appreciate this extension and show of confidence in me and our football program," Paterno said in a statement. "I still enjoy coaching and I'm excited about the upcoming season and the incoming recruiting class."
In a statement, university president Graham Spanier praised Paterno's "success on the field, the graduation rate of his student athletes and the positive impact his players have made on society."
Terms of the deal were not released.
The contract for the 77-year-old Paterno was scheduled to end after the 2004 season and, because of Penn State's recent lack of success, many questioned if the coach would return.
But Paterno, 77, has repeatedly said he wants to continue coaching as long as he's healthy.
"Penn State's future is bright and we are determined to have a team which in the future will again be in the mix for a national championship," he said.
Paterno won national championships in 1982 and 1986 and has coached five undefeated teams. His overall record is 339-109-3, and he is second only to Florida State's Bobby Bowden in major-college wins.

Joe Pa will die a coach for the Nittany Lions, what else could he possibly do...good for him!

He could leave so the program could get out of the ditch. Recruiting is just about done because kids just do not want to play there. Not now especially. They need to start fresh, not stay stale. Last year was one of the worst Penn St teams have ever see. I guess they figure he can take them out of the downward spiral that he himself put them in. Very bad move...OF

The biggest celebration is by the other 10 universities in the Big 10.

why god, why?

It was just a couple years ago Penn State had several top draft picks...Joe Pa deserves one last contract...

Did he forget how to coach? PleASE! Just look around there are several oldtimers still producing...we`re talking about one of the top ten coaches of alltime...

Vermeil,Gibbs,McKeon,Hubie Brown etc...Joe Paterno deserves this...all he`s done

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RobFunk:
why god, why?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Respect

respect?! the coach is only one piece of what makes the program. he got a paycheck all those years, right? they owe him nothing. boot him, and get someone who can do the job. this is a total embarassment for that program. they just signed up for four 3-7 seasons.

if someone did a good job in the past and you were paying them for it, but their performance is crap now and it hurts the company now, you do what?.. . .anyone?. . .go ahead, funk. ."ummm you fire him?" . .thats right, fire him. good job Rob

I would respect him more if he stepped down. There is no NFL draft talent on his teams now. Let me see, worst team in 39 years. Is that bottoming out? Last season was a crash and burn, in this what have you done for me lately world, he has led them down the toilet. Some games they were not even competitive. Those alumni really like ol Joe Pa. It's all about the money. Best Wishes...OF

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>has repeatedly said he wants to continue coaching as long as he's healthy. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

the guy didnt say he wants to die as coach of PA. please get over that sick minded notion

HAWKEYES #1

At this point, Joe Pa is probably equally effective as a player or a coach.

Posted on Tue, Nov. 25, 2008



Paterno is Big Ten Coach of the Year


Daily News Wire Services
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Penn State's Joe Paterno was chosen coach of the year, and a school record 10 players were selected first team All-Big Ten in voting by the conference coaches and media yesterday. Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis repeated as defensive player of the year and Iowa's Shonn Greene captured best offensive player Monday when the All-Big Ten was announced.
Penn State center A.Q. Shipley is the offensive lineman of the year and Iowa defensive tackle Mitch King was selected as the top defensive lineman. Freshman of the year was Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
In addition to Shipley, five other Penn State players were selected to the first-team offense: senior tackle Gerald Cadogan, junior quarterback Daryll Clark, senior placekicker Kevin Kelly, senior guard Rich Ohrnberger, and senior wide receiver Derrick Williams.
Four Nittany Lions were named to the first-team defense: sophomore linebacker Navorro Bowman, sophomore defensive end Aaron Maybin, junior defensive tackle Jared Odrick and senior safety Anthony Scirrotto.
The 81-year-old Paterno underwent hip replacement surgery Sunday, a day after the Nittany Lions clinched a Rose Bowl berth by beating Michigan State. He led Penn State to an 11-1 record, even as he coached from the press box. Penn State went 7-1 in the league but had its national-title hopes dashed by a tough loss at Iowa.
Paterno won the Dave McClain Coach of the Year award from the media for the third time. He's the third three-time winner in league history, joining Michigan's Bo Schembechler, who won six, and Iowa's Hayden Fry, who was also honored three times.
Four Penn Staters earned second-team All-Big Ten honors and seven earned honorable-mention all-conference recognition.
Laurinaitis helped the Buckeyes to a share of the title with Penn State by averaging 10 tackles per game while becoming the third player in league history to win the award back-to-back. He joins Illinois' Dana Howard and Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald. *

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/s...uestions-pile-up-for-penn-states-paterno.html

October 28, 2011

Victories and Questions Pile Up for Paterno

By MARK VIERA

Penn State is in the midst of what could be a memorable season. The Nittany Lions are atop the Big Ten standings. And Joe Paterno is on the verge of setting the record for coaching victories in Division I college football.
But the approach to another milestone moment for the 84-year-old Paterno has been tinged with a sense of unease because of whispers about his future, and about the program he has built in 46 seasons as coach.
“We’re not going to respond to any speculation on what the future might be,” Tim Curley, Penn State’s athletic director, said in a telephone interview. “We’re enjoying the season, and hopefully we can get a win and celebrate a nice thing for Coach. But we just can’t get caught up in it right now. We’ll cross whatever bridge when we get there.”
Paterno is one win from earning his 409th victory and passing Eddie Robinson, the coach at Grambling State for 55 seasons, for the most career Division I victories. The 21st-ranked Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) host Illinois (6-2, 2-2) on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions have fattened up with victories against the likes of Indiana State, Eastern Michigan and Indiana, their lone loss coming to No. 2 Alabama on Sept. 10. All the while the questions about Paterno have loomed over the team.
Paterno’s contract expires at the end of this season, and Penn State administrators have said they will evaluate his status, as is customary, when the season is over. Paterno has shown no signs of wanting to step aside, even though he injured his right shoulder and pelvis when he was accidentally leveled by a player in a preseason practice.
Worried about being run over again, and about becoming a distraction, Paterno has coached at least half of every game from the press box. The sight of Paterno watching from afar has seemed to perpetuate a notion of his aloofness.
“I don’t think it’s affected the chance for the football team to get better because of the staff,” Paterno told reporters Tuesday. “I’ve turned over things to the staff at times where I used to get in there and mix it up with the kids a little bit, which I hope I’ll get back to.”
In the past 10 years, Paterno has added new bullet points to his long, distinguished résumé. He earned his 324th win in 2001, passing Bear Bryant of Alabama for most wins at a major program. Last season, Paterno won his 400th game.
Paterno and Robinson trail only John Gagliardi for wins at any level of college football. Gagliardi has accumulated most of his 481 victories at St. John’s, a Division III university in Collegeville, Minn. Gagliardi is in his 59th year as coach of the Johnnies.
But Paterno’s coaching from the press box has given rise to questions about his involvement. Penn State’s players said Paterno’s sideline status had no impact on them.
“Joe’s the coach,” said receiver Devon Smith, who collided with Paterno on the sideline this summer while diving to make a catch. “He’s the head coach of the team, so you hear from him. Him not being on the sideline doesn’t affect anybody on the team.”
The uncertainty regarding Paterno has fueled speculation among fans and in the news media about possible successors, but no one has been publicly designated.
The notion of forcing Paterno to step aside is a thorny one at Penn State. He has helped build the university, not only the football program, having donated with his wife more than $4 million to the library that now bears their name. He has never shown a hint of wanting to step aside, even when, in 2004, the university administrators asked him to do so.
“I want him to go out the right way,” Todd Blackledge, the quarterback of Penn State’s 1982 national title team, said by telephone earlier this year. “I’ve always said I think he’s earned the right to decide when he wants to stop. I just hope he’ll know that clearly.”
There is perhaps no current coach who can relate to Paterno’s situation better than Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer. At 65, Beamer is nearly 20 years younger than Paterno, but he has led the Hokies since 1987, and he has no plans to retire.
Beamer, whose 247 wins rank second to Paterno’s among active coaches, said he would know when to step aside. He will also rely on his wife and his close advisers to be honest enough to tell him when it is his time.
“It’s going to be difficult for anyone when you hang it up,” Beamer said in a telephone interview. “You look forward to the fall and look forward to getting the team together and getting the chemistry right, then you don’t have that challenge anymore.”
Paterno has long said that he, too, would know when it is his time. And the dynamic is such at Penn State that it has seemed only he will make the decision to step aside.
For now, the Nittany Lions are in the hunt for a conference championship, and with one more victory, Penn State will be in for another celebration of Paterno’s career. But the questions about the future in Happy Valley will probably not stop any time soon.

Thread from 2004.

This bumping useless old threads never ends. Like I have nothing better to do.Remember when you see the Grey Haired Old Man it is an old thread bumped probably by 5tramparlay.


Thanks, wilheim