ShareThisBy RON COOK
Let's see, Kevin Kelly made the field goal to beat Florida State in the third overtime of the 2006 Orange Bowl shortly before 1 a.m. Jan. 4. That means it was a little after 1 _ after the initial "We Are! Penn State!'' chants in celebration of the Nittany Lions' magical 11-1 season and No. 3 ranking had reverberated from South Beach to Happy Valley _ that the first of the still-flowing e-mails rolled in to those of us who had the temerity to suggest Joe Paterno had hung on too long and damaged the Penn State program almost beyond recognition.
Don't you feel like an idiot now? You mean, more than usual?
Are you going to apologize to JoePa? For what? For questioning the legitimacy of Paterno's longevity after he led Penn State to it's worst five-year period in more than half a century? Like 5-7, 5-6, 9-4, 3-9 and 4-7 is acceptable?
Won't you finally concede Paterno deserves to go out on his terms? Sorry, no.
It's funny, those e-mails were strangely absent when Penn State went 4-7 in 2004, but that's getting off the mark.
Back to those questions.
Why should anyone feel stupid for thinking coaching is a young man's game? The pressure in college football these days is extraordinary. Recruiting. Fund-raising (a task for which Paterno has no peer). Media obligations. Worrying that the players stay in school, stay out of jail and stay away from those high-pay, no-work jobs at car dealerships. And, of course, winning games.
That's why so many coaches burn out in their 60s or even 50s and step aside for the thirty-somethings.
That's why the job Paterno did last season _ resurrecting Penn State from the dead _ was so amazing and almost unfathomable.
And that's why it stretches the imagination to think that Paterno, as he nears 80 and takes on more of a figurehead role, will be able to keep Penn State on top or relatively close to it.
Those groans you heard a few weeks ago probably came from Penn State administrators after Paterno talked _ not entirely in jest _ of coaching another 10 years.
Which brings us to that apology.
Paterno will get mine as soon as he gets one from Penn State president Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley. They knocked on his door after the final game in '04 and asked for his resignation. Apparently, they, too, believed he had stayed on too long and damaged the program.
Spanier and Curley weren't wrong. If they made a mistake, it was the lame way they left Paterno's home without that resignation, proving exactly who wears the pants, so to speak, at Penn State. Actually, their mistake was waiting so long to ask. It should have happened at least five years earlier. We'll never know if Penn State would have gone through those abysmal seasons under another coach. The guess here is no. Penn State has too much in place _ prestige, tradition, facilities and finances, all thanks to Paterno _ to be such a losing program for so long.
So, if you don't mind, let's hold off on that apology, OK?
Do you think they'll rush to apologize to Florida State coach Bobby Bowden if he goes 12-1 this season? He's the all-time winningest major college coach, yet he's under intense heat after going 8-5 last season.
Do you think they'll apologize to Michigan's Lloyd Carr? He's won a national championship and five Big Ten Conference titles in 11 years, yet he has been torched because of a 7-5 record last season, not to mention his 1-4 record against Ohio State's Jim Tressel.
How about Miami's Larry Coker? He won a national title in 2001 and played in the championship game after the '02 season, yet there's speculation this could be it for him after two consecutive 9-3 seasons.
Do you think any of those coaches could have survived a 3-9? Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer _ another national title winner _ barely survived 5-6 last season.
The point is there can be no lifetime passes in college football anymore. The enormity of the sport precludes it. We're talking about the ultimate "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately?" business. There can be no exceptions. Not even for Paterno, who is _ let me put this in capital letters so there is no misunderstanding _ THE GREATEST COLLEGE COACH OF ALL TIME.
Paterno can go until he's 100 as long as he keeps winning. No, he doesn't have to finish 12-1 every year. There's virtually no chance of that this season because of Penn State's brutal schedule and the losses of quarterback Michael Robinson, most of the offensive and defensive lines and the entire secondary. But, Penn State can't ever slip back to the dark days of 4-7 and 3-9. Not just under Paterno. Under any coach.
Paterno has only himself to blame.
He set the standard, didn't he?
