Paterno Should Retire

Gene Collier reports, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that JoePa "pretty much rehired himself" when he assured the Penn State faithful at a Friday night pep rally that he intends to return as coach next year.

In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bob Ford writes that Penn State's 11-1, Big Ten-winning season "might be a signature season" for other coaches, but it's, essentially, "another season in the mathematical snowstorm of [Paterno's] career."

Ford is right when he says that Paterno was "marginalized" only a few years ago by mediocre seasons and personnel problems. What Paterno has accomplished in that time is nothing short of astounding.

Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated cautions against expecting "JoePa" to end his coaching career when the final whistle blows in the Rose Bowl.

But I have a couple of reasons for suggesting that the man who coaches the #6 team in the AP poll (as of Nov. 23) should step down when the season is over.

* He's 81.

By the time his team takes the field in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl, he'll be 82. He's been coaching at Penn State since the autumn I enrolled in first grade - 1966.

He will be 86 when any players he signs during recruiting this year graduate - if, in fact, any of them do graduate.

It's a bit of a reach, though, to suggest that any of Paterno's recruits won't graduate. Over the years, all of Penn State's athletic programs have built a national reputation for graduating their athletes.

Yet, today's recruit - even if he is supremely blessed physically, diligent academically and generally solid morally - takes a tremendous gamble when signing with Penn State. What are the odds that Paterno will still be alive - and able to coach - in the next four years?

Such a recruit risks making a commitment to a program that may be run by a different coach before he graduates. Such a recruit may have to shift gears from one style of offense or defense to another - a transition that is typically easier on veterans of the professional game than it is on young college players.

* Why not go out on top? Isn't the Rose Bowl a pretty magnificent stage on which to take your final bow?

He's the NCAA's all-time leader in wins (383) and bowls (the Rose Bowl will be his 35th - he has a record of 23-10-1). He's won two national championships and three Big Ten championships.

What else is left to accomplish?

* He could hand over the program to a successor of his choosing. And he could hand over a program that he rehabilitated from the statistical gutter to which it had declined in recent years. Certainly, Penn State would agree to hire anyone he designated. The program, after all, was built on his principles.

Instead of handing over the program that was in a shambles a few years ago, Paterno could give his successor a healthy, vibrant program. Through mid-November, Penn State was ranked fourth in the nation in total defense and 18th in the nation in total offense. The Nittany Lions don't have any nominees for this year's Heisman on their roster, but they've got the #22 rusher in the nation (Evan Royster) and the #33 passer (Daryll Clark), and kicker Kevin Kelly is in the top 10 in scoring.

I know that, in the back of his mind, Paterno thinks of his friend and former coaching colleague, Paul "Bear" Bryant - and how he died in January 1983, less than a month after retiring.

Understandably, Paterno put two and two together. But, in this case, it doesn't necessarily add up to four.

Life just doesn't work that way. Bryant, who suffered from heart problems for many years, died of a massive heart attack at the age of 69, one day after he passed a routine medical checkup. That's the kind of thing that could have happened even if he hadn't retired.

There are no guarantees, of course. But, if he retires, Paterno can enjoy the time he has left - he'll be treated as an elder statesman by the Penn State community.

And he can have the satisfaction of making a final contribution to the future of the Penn State program.