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Joe Paterno to Return in 2011

Not only is JoePa coming back next year, he's surprised you even asked:
"Now's not the time to go," Paterno said. "We've got a young team. They may not be there yet, but they will be soon." 

"I've never indicated to anybody that I'm not coming back," he said. "I've not thought about getting out of it." 
Thoughts, Lion fans who comment among us?

Paterno plans to help young Lions in 2011 [ESPN Big Ten Blog] 



Adam said...

...and then the recruiting geeks jumped off the bridge again...

Vince said...

He deserves the Brett Favre treatment, go out on bottom...

He must be old that he has delusions that his team is gonna be able to compete on a national level

Adam said...
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Adam said...
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Adam said...

The ignorance of people on this blog never ceases to amaze me.

BurressWithButterflywings said...

A lot of people on here feel the same way about you!

Joe should be able to leave whenever he wants. He's earned that.

Adam said...

A lot of people just don't like Penn State.

jerrykid said...

It's time for Penn St to go in another direction. Paterno has all my respect in the world, but I'm pretty sure he's not running the show up there anymore. Let the haters say what they want around these parts, but Penn State is a prestigious program and would be a top tier coaching job, given its storied history, it's larger than life stadium, and rabid fan base. No more than five years ago, Florida and Alabama had regressed to mediocrity and went out and made big time hires, and its paying off. Penn State has that ability to do the same thing, and I wish theyd get Joe out and grab a guy like Chris Petersen before someone else beats them to the punch.

Adam said...

Chris Petersen?

No thank you. I'd rather have LJ Sr. and Tom Bradley under JoePa than a mid-major coach who's already rejected other jobs because he knows he only "wins" because he plays in the WAC, nevermind that he was stupid enough to jump on the sinking ship that is the MWC.

Louis Lipps is my homeboy said...

Fine by me.

Keep JoePa at State College so the recruits he used to get keep going to Pitt.


Adam said...

Like who?

You people have been saying that for literally 20 years and when has it ever worked for you?

The Voice said...

Since college football is a glorified exhibition with a mythical national championship who cares? If Joe Pa wants to keep patrolling the sidelines, he's earned it.

If college football actually decided a true champion via a playoff system, then yeah maybe you could argue that the Nittany Lions need to get a strong coach to keep them competitive.

College football is about tradition, and it doesn't get any more traditional than seeing Joe Paterno stalking the sidelines of a Penn State game.

jerrykid said...

Noo, we certainly wouldnt want to hire a proven coach from a mid-major out west, that would NEVER work, cough...Utah, cough...Mountain West, cough...Urban Meyer, Florida Gators...Bradley is a great coordinator, but an unproven motivator and head coach. And if you really think Larry Sr, a defensive assistant who has no experience as a head coach, let alone a play caller, would be a good choice, then give me some of what you're smoking because its gotta be out of this world. Look, the program needs change from the outside if it wants to get back to the next level. Its good right now, but not great. JoePa's time has passed, if State hires within the same organization, then it will stay the same, at best. If you're content with 9 or 10 win seasons on the reg, Capital One and Outback bowls, and being owned by Sweater Vest almost every year so be it. Also, Resident PSU hater Louis Lipps' homeboy is right. JoePa's old age and the uncertainty of the program is hurting the recruiting. I know its mid season and State will make some kind of push, but they arnt in the top 50 on, below teams like Duke, and 10th in the conference, while Pitt is top 20, a spot PSU is familiar with. No matter how few scholarships PSU can dish out this year(JoePa's excuse, dont buy it), this is unacceptable. If they want to get back to contending for a conference title every year like the 90's, they need to make a big hire from a proven guy on the outside. Pure and simple.

BURGH08 said...

I respect Paterno and his impact on the sport, but he has been a coach in name only. He hasn't gone off campus to recruit in years. To me it's sad watching him roam aimless on the sidelines, talk in conferences, etc.

That said, the staff in place remains solid, and the continuity of the program could be key to have a more successful year in '11, I can see the reasoning.

Adam said...

O JerryKid, my argument went completely over your head. What a shame.

Of course the game has passed Joe by, but that doesn't mean he can't successfully lead a football program. Where he coached before, he manages a fantastic staff now, and that's why this team remains competitive. If you think flushing that down the toilet prematurely for some dude for the WAC is a good idea, then you really just don't understand college football.

And for every Urban Meyer out there, there are 100 failures. You never read about them, though, so you must think they don't exist. Boise St. can beat anyone in the country. I'll give you that. That's a direct result of being able to coast through a crappy schedule, though.

Save me the Chris Petersen act. Your argument has the depth of a pie pan. Turn off ESPN and learn the game.

Adam said...

O, and I never suggested LJ Sr. or Tom Bradley should get Joe's job. I simply suggested that as part of Joe Paterno's staff, they do a hell of a job. When Joe is gone, they're gone, and if you think I'd trade Joe and this staff for Chris Petersen, you're high.

jerrykid said...

Petersen is just an example, and a good one. Your Urban Meyer rebuttal is vague. Provide me with some facts, please. 100 to 1 really, is Penn State football going to keel over and die if JoePa's staff is replaced? Have 100 other coaches done what Petersen has done, turned a small town in bumfuck Egypt into a powerhouse, convincing great players to come to IDAHO to play football? PA recruiting would be a walk in the park for that guy with the credentials and the hardware he has. He would destroy Wanny and Pitt in recruiting just as bad as Boise would kill both Pitt or Penn St in a bowl game this year. And Boise isnt even the best team in the country right now, which says even more.

PSU has the great prestige, and not to mention money, to sign a big name coach. We are lucky for that, and should take advantage. If Bradley is so good, then why hasnt joepa named him as his successor yet? Why hasnt another big name school offered him more money and picked him off the tree? (dont give me the hes loyal to JoePa crap, if Bradley was really great, hed either already be the named heir, or somewhere else by now).

The very fact that you acknowledge that our HEAD COACH IS NOT REALLY THE COACH OF OUR TEAM says alot. You admit the game has passed him by but he can "manage a fantastic staff", and thats why we remain competitive? Is that what makes a program successful? Um, No. The head coach has to be the man, the primary recruiter to go out and get your four and five star studs. Thats all Meyer, Stoops, Brown, Tressel, and Saban do, every year, and if you want to play facts and stats, then challenge me, because the proof is in the pudding. You are choking on the juice youre drinking if you really dont think PSU could be good without JoePa and his staff right now. The program has one of the biggest followings in the country, the second biggest stadium in the country, a top ten winning team of all time in college football... do you think people are going to quit coming to games and the Lions are going to turn into Purdue overnight because the recruits dont want us anymore...cause JoePa and his staff arnt there?

Just the fact that you are happy with a figurehead coach and enjoy the staff speaks volumes. You are just happy with where we are, when we could be better. Jay Paterno is a terrible play caller and goes nowhere without his daddy. If Wanny loses his job this year, rumors are Bradley, whose pops is a Pitt alum, could replace him. Youd be throwing one of your jock straps out the window if that happened wouldnt you Penn St Adam?

Its time to move on, the program and the tradition and all the bs that goes along with it will move on, if they hire from outside the right guy who can recruit and promise his players some stability instead of whats going on right now, which is a team with no structured leadership. You have a mascot, the mascots son, and a couple of coordinators jockeying for head position of the..i honestly can't believe how it's holding together.

Stop being such a Penn State JoePa homer, break up with your first girlfriend, we loved her, she was great. But its time to move on, cmon Adam dont you think Penn State could be better?

jerrykid said...

And seriously, if i heard someone ever say "Mike Tomlin isnt really qualified as a head coach anymore, but he has won in the past, and manages a good staff, so i'd like this regime to continue", i would deem them so ignorant to not even call them a Steeler fan. Thats what you are saying.

Beta Whorf said...

Didn't Penn State have a top ten recruiting class a year ago? Where was the downfall last year?
Penn State has a very small amount of scholarhips available this year. They have chosen to target top tier talent that is not going to jump on board in the early going.
I played 4 years of football at a Division II school who had an up and coming coach from a PAC school. During my recruitment I dealt exclusively with the Defensive Coordinator only meeting the head coach on my official visit. With several other schools the head coach was more hands on. That didn't mean a darn to me or the other defensive recruits.
That head coach did not call plays, offensive or defensive, very rarely made home visits to recruits and was in his early 40's.
For those of you who have this impression that a college head coach calls every shot and visits every recruit you are sorely mistaken. Meyer, Saban and Tressel will make the visits to top recruits but that's about it. If a visit from a head coach who will not specifically coach you in practice or call a blitz during a game means that much to a recruit he is either selfish or uninformed. Coaching in college is vastly greater than high school.

The Abiding Dude said...

It's good to see folks arguing amongst themselves over this....glad to see some just argue to argue.

Bababooey said...

Adam, I do agree with you most of the time with PSU and the direction they are going. However, this time I have to disagree on the JoePa topic. The guy is old. The school needs to move on and sign a coach who is able to recruit successfully. Not saying Joe and his staff have done a poor job recently, just they can do a lot better than what they have. It was recently reported he has one scotch, and is hammered off his ass at practice. Not b/c he's an alchy, but b/c it's on accident and he's an old man! It was reported he is at meetings drunk or suffering from an 8 hour hang over!

I would have to side with Jerry Kid on this, topic. Just move on, sign a top coach, keep some of the same staff (Bradley & LJ Sr.), and keep Joe within the program somewhere, maybe? Just not calling the shots.

Bababooey said...

Oh..and, Pitt still stinks.

jerrykid said...

Of course a coach doesnt do everything, but
the top recruits are the ones that count. The assistants can sift thru the three star guys, its the head coach that ultimately convinces the Reggie Bush's and Tim Tebows to come, and implements them into their system, thats what separates the great teams from the good ones. On the contrary, a great coach has everything to do with the success of a program, and can turn them into a contender in a matter of just a couple years. You really think Florida and Bama have national titles if they kept Ron Zook and Dave Shula? Shula failed in recruiting Tebow where Meyer succeeded, thats why Meyer is a 2x national champion and Shula is coaching quarterbacks in Jacksonville.

HomeRunFromBehindTheMeatballs said...

This isn't even news, just an excuse for Adam to get piled on.

What's wrong with letting JoePa leave 'when he wants to' AND naming Tom Bradley as his successor whenever he leaves?

Bradley an unproven motivator? REALLY? ... REALLY?

@Burgh08 - I know FOR A FACT that he went off campus to visit Paul Poz in High School. Still, i believe he's more of a figurehead/recruiting tool than actual every down coach.

@Bababooey - where do you get this JoePa drunk in practice info? I heard he raped a dog in front of the students too, but just cause i said it on a blog doesn't make a lick of it true.

Bababooey said...

HomeRun, it was reported by Tim Benz. I just repeated what was reported by him over the radio yesterday. Benz reported it was from one of his "guys" at PSU. Rumor? Speculation? Maybe. But I was just trying to get the point across that JoePa is just plain old and time to move on to another successor. Just sayin.

jerrykid said...

Penn St Adam is such a Penn St. homer he thinks LJ Senior is a better head coach than Chris Petersen. Dont give him sympathy.

Don't get me wrong, I like Tom Bradley, and he would be a good fit if you want PSU to stay the same. He is not going to elevate this program back to where it was though. Maybe get a shot at the title every five years, and get crapped on at the horseshoe by Tressel every other year if you enjoy that. Why does this happen? Because Sweater Vest out recruits us. Not just in Ohio, where thats expected...He has signed more top recruits in PA, our own backyard in the last 5 years, than Penn State has. Alot more. Another team that has? PITT. And that sticks in my craw.

Adam said...

Once again, never said LJ Sr. would be a good head coach. He's perfect right where he is...coaching under Joe Paterno.

O and Silas Redd would like a word about "not recruiting successfully."

Bababooey said...

Did Pitt really sign more PA guys in the last couple of years than PSU? Regardless of the playing situation, that's dumb on the player's part. Anyone know the school to NFL draft ratio on that?

jerrykid said...

Cmon man, youre not seeing the big picture. Of course PSU gets good players. They are a good program. Thats not what im talking about. Im talking about being great year in and year out. Ohio St now. Michigan back in the day. Penn St. back in the day. Im talking about the 5 star game breakers leaving our backyard. Here are the ONLY 5 star recruits out of PA in the last few years.

2010 Sharif Floyd #4 in the nation - Florida
2009 Corey Brown and Dorian Bell #31 and 33- Ohio State. They are back ups right now.
2008 Terelle Pryor #1 - Ohio State, Jonathan Baldwin #26, Pitt

My point here is Penn State can be very good in spurts. But the great teams just get more good players, and they get them more consistently. Tressel can field a team year in and year out, no matter how inexperienced, and still compete for the Big Ten championship because the talent pool is so thick. Its something JoePa used to be able to do. Not anymore.

Five years ago Bear Bryant was dead and Bama sucked. Spurrier was gone and Florida was dead in the water. Now they are the place to be. I want a new coach, and I want him to make Penn State just that. It has the facilities, the fanbase, the money, and the tradition already in place to make that happen. Now it just needs a great coach to bring it all together.

BURGH08 said...

A few more thoughts:

* Pitt would never hire Tom Bradley (if he were open to being considered) , mainly because they are too stupid. His Penn State ties would blind the administration and piece of the fan base from making such a great pick in my opinion.

* Beta: Comparing Cal with a Division I school is apples to oranges. You are correct in they go and get help get the 'big fish', but Paterno hasn't done that.

* Home Run: You do realize that Posluszny was a high school senior in 2002, right? He hasn't left campus to recruit someone since Prior. Don't disagree with your fact.

* This basically comes down to your satisfaction of the program. I have two cousins who are brothers that argue this very point about Paterno. The one wants to see him wander around the sidelines and keep the current system in place. The other thinks it's time to move on and PSU keeping him shows a complacency.

* Bababooey: Enjoy the upcoming basketball season.

Adam said...

O, so Jerry, you're a recruiting nerd.

You do realize kids just pay money to get on those lists, right? There's no science to it. There are maybe 10-20 kids in the entire country who are markedly better than the rest and the others really aren't that much different than one another. It comes down to coaches finding what they like in a player and how he fits in their system.

That's why Penn State has been winning with "inferior" recruiting classes to Pitt. Wanstedt recruits the and kids and Joe Paterno recruits Daryll Clark, Josh Hull, Matt McGloin, and a bunch of other kids through his tenure that fit the bill of what he wants to do.

Again, give me a flipping break about recruiting. It's coaching that makes the difference, and Paterno has all the right coaches in place to be as competitive as he has the last five years.

jerrykid said...

The recruiting and the coach are one in the same. Great coach, great recruits, great teams. My sides are literally splitting with laughter when you name drop guys like Josh Hull and Matt Mcgloin. You think these guys are great? Urban Meyer wouldnt hire them as water boys. They wouldnt even be back ups at Florida. These guys arnt making us national contenders. They are good enough to make us a second tier team, which might be ok with you, but not with me.

Go ahead and sip the JoePa kool aid of mediocrity and contentment Penn State Adam. Get excited when they field a contender once every few years. Get disappointed when the Buckeyes romp us every couple years, whatever. I remember when Penn State didnt have to take a year or two to rebuild, they just reloaded. Thats what the great teams do.

Adam said...

I really don't have time for this. Look at any six year period in Paterno's career. There's little departure between the zenith of his success and the last six.

O, and Florida is so good this year its getting slotted in the same bowl game as Penn State, so pardon my ass for not bowing down and kissing Urban Meyer's ass.

Tony77019 said...

I only hope that we don't have to listen to the ego-fest of Paterno fielding questions all next year about when he is going to retire. We all already know when that is. So Coach Paterno: Go do your thing but let's not hear about it.

jerrykid said...

Certainly you'd be kissing JoePa's ass if he won us two national championships plus a sugar bowl in the last three years. Is that how low you will go around these parts to defend the status quo, even so much as comparing us to the Florida Gators in terms of programs right now?

Penn State Adam, you are a joke. You have posted no legitimate arguments or rebuttals to the mountain of information and truth i have brought upon you. When I lay out concrete facts about recruiting, you shit conspiracy theories out your ass about payoffs. You have no evidence to support your claims, what player, when and where did this happen? You have no answer for any of my questions. Why are we a second tier team instead of a perennial contender like we used to be? Why havent we fielded a championship squad since '94? Why does Ohio State dominate us all the time, on the field and in recruiting? Why cant we ever beat an inferior program like Iowa? How "good" recently were our good teams? Do you really think in 05 we wouldve beat USC or Texas given the chance? What about 08 when we were co big ten champs, would we have been able to even touch Tim Tebow and Florida? Be honest with yourself here.

Pucker up, and hold your breath, youre not going to be kissing his old ass anytime soon. Dont be afraid of change. Change can be good.

jerrykid said...

And why the hell did you choose "six" in a years period to make that your counterpoint? Why not seven? Or nine? Four? Like we won two national championships between 82 and 86? Like we had four top 15 finishes between 93 and 96? How about 'ONE" year period. Right now. We arnt good. We have a max of two good years in a row, and then have to rebuild. But you are happy with that. Good for ya

Adam said...

The difference between you and I is that I'm not so self-loathing that I expect Penn State to win the national championship every year. I love Penn State for what it is, Joe Paterno is a big part of that.

I'd rather be a very good team that does things the right way than oversign kids and throw academic standards out the window like many of these SEC schools you venerate.

It's clear you know too little about the inner working of college athletics to possibly understand what I'm talking about. I encourage you to head over to if you'd like to continue talking about how Paterno needs to go. You can even write your own blog post about it over there.

Happy Thanksgiving.