College Sports: Penn State football - Should Joe go?

What do you all think about paterno staying at PSU? Is it time for the old man to hang it up, or should he stick around to right the ship?

well i don't know that Joe Pa sticking around will right the ship since Joe Pa almost capsized the ship. he needs to realize that he will go down as one of the all time best coaches and hang it up, spend some time with the grandkids, sit on the porch drinking iced tea, and doing old man stuff like pulling weeds in the garden that takes up half the back yard. i think he already wears brown pants hiked up to the middle of his chest so he doesn't have to worry about that.

Man thats a tough question. Especially for a life-long dedicated Lions fan and JoePa fan. I'm sure Gibbs feels the same way. I would hate to see him go because the PSU sideline just wouldn't be the same and I'm finding it difficult trying to convince myself that the program could use a fresh change. I think the ideadl situation would be to bring in a new head coach and have JoePa as an offensive coordinator or QB coach or something but Joe would never go for that and they wouldn't ask him to. It's such a tough call for the university because Joe is so beloved and he has done so much for them. I dont think Joe goes until he steps down and I dont think that will be much longer, I know he's getting tired of losing. You cant say he's getting old though, did you see him run down the officials at halftime of a couple games last season, he looked like a sprinter. Any way you slice it, Joe Paterno is Penn State football.



How old do you think this pic is?

Originally posted by ProudAmerican
Any way you slice it, Joe Paterno is Penn State football.

I would agree with this statement, and this is precisely why he needs to step down soon, before he drags the good name of the Nittany Lions through the mud. It's not that he's a bad coach, he just doesn't have the clout to recruit like he used too. If i were a prospect and Joe Pa was recruiting me, my first question would be, is he gonna be around for my entire career at PSU, and the answer i would come to is, probably not. The next question is, when we change coaches am i going to get the playing time with the next coach as i would have with Joe Pa, and i would come to think that i wouldn't. So i would go somewhere that i know the coach wanted me. nothing agaisnt Joe Pa, it's just time to retire to the hall of fame.

Originally posted by ProudAmerican



How old do you think this pic is?

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess it's circa 1968 or so.

[Edited on 11-1-2004 by aegis fang]

Originally posted by aegis fang

Originally posted by ProudAmerican
Any way you slice it, Joe Paterno is Penn State football.

I would agree with this statement, and this is precisely why he needs to step down soon, before he drags the good name of the Nittany Lions through the mud. It's not that he's a bad coach, he just doesn't have the clout to recruit like he used too. If i were a prospect and Joe Pa was recruiting me, my first question would be, is he gonna be around for my entire career at PSU, and the answer i would come to is, probably not. The next question is, when we change coaches am i going to get the playing time with the next coach as i would have with Joe Pa, and i would come to think that i wouldn't. So i would go somewhere that i know the coach wanted me. nothing agaisnt Joe Pa, it's just time to retire to the hall of fame.

I heard this arguement earlier this season, and I am finally convinced that it's time for him to go.

Like PA said, it's hard to say that, but that's how it is. Here's a comment form a buddy of mine -

"Joe will be gone at the end of the year. Notice how during the game the announcers were almost acting like they knew it was ending. It was weird.

I've been saying all along at the end of games he's really shaking hands and hugging the opposing coaches like he knows it's over. Did you see him shake all the OSU players hands??? He was even turning around to go back and shake their hands. I've NEVER seen Paterno do that before. These were third string guys.

Driving back from Harrisburg yesterday it was actually kind of sad. Even though I want Joe to go, it will still be the end of era. Very few people know college football without Paterno a part of it.

I think he's gone or at least some kind of change. If not, I'll be pissed!"

Originally posted by aegis fang

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess it's circa 1968 or so.

Yeah, it's gotta be from around that time.

looking though the archives today, noticed this thread. I think the question has been answered this season.

Joe is gonna stay until he's number 1 on the all time win list.

Which he was, until the past few seasons when the team fell apart, and Bobby gained enough ground on him. Bowden is only like 8 games ahead of JoePa, but his Florida State team is really loaded fr next season, so I don't forsee Joe making up any ground in the short run...