It looks like Saturday won’t be Joe Paterno’s swan song at Beaver Stadium.
JoePa won’t be retiring as some speculated. He plans to return as Penn State coach next season, he said.
The Nittany Lions meet No. 11 Michigan State in the regular-season finale on Saturday, leading some fans and writers to wonder if this would be the 83-year-old coach's last home game.
JoePa believes that the Nittany Lions have a chance to be good next year, he said.
“I'm looking forward to it… We've struggled a little bit this year, the youth and the injuries and the whole bit,” Paterno said Tuesday at his weekly news conference in Happy Valley. “But I think with a good spring and preseason practice… We're going to be a good football team, and I'd like to (be) part of it.”
Paterno has been the part of plenty of good Penn State football teams. Since he started coaching the Nittany Lions in 1966 he has posted an impressive 401-132-3 record and has won two national championships.
Paterno appears healthier now after off season illnesses slowed him down. The 2011 season would be the last year of a three-year extension signed in 2008.
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Quarterback Matt McGloin said he thought Paterno could go even a couple more years. Linebacker Chris Colasanti said he wasn't surprised JoePa was returning.
“He's still vocal and energetic on the field,” Colasanti said. “He still loves to come out and coach, be vocal… He has fun with it, we see that and we feed off of that.”
Speculation about Paterno's future has been a constant end-of-the-season topic for years. It ramped up this season with Paterno's summer illness and struggles at mid-season that kept the team out of the Big Ten title hunt.
In Happy Valley, a 7-4 record is considered a disappointment. The first question asked of Paterno on Tuesday was whether he planned to return.
“Yeah, why you know something I don't know,” he quipped.
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