12/22/24
November 05, 2003
Joe Paterno's teams are losing, 10 players have been arrested this year, and his behavior is becoming erratic. He told the press that a player's DUI arrest was "blown out of proportion because he is a football player, but he didn't do anything to anybody." Is it time for JoePa to goPa?
I would love nothing more to see that washed-up bum stop while he's ahead, but I doubt it will happen this season. He won't be leaving until he's good and ready on a winning note. And for us Pitt Panther fans, here's to hoping that won't be for a few years. :-)
posted by rosey8810 at 01:08 PM on November 05, 2003
If the White House called me and said they needed me to go over to Iraq, I might go over. I guess Joe doesn't understand that they play a very different form of football in Iraq. But hey, if it will help I'm sure some of the Army units have informal squads that he could help... Sad to see him destroying a great legacy by not knowing when to fold'em.
posted by billsaysthis at 01:18 PM on November 05, 2003
I like the guy and it's sad to see him losing like this, but he should have retired a few years ago.
posted by Bernreuther at 02:20 PM on November 05, 2003
If by "a few" you mean 10+, yes.
posted by yerfatma at 04:03 PM on November 05, 2003
Hrm, 9 years ago he went undefeated, outscoring opponents by just a shade under 30 points a game. So, yeah, he probably should have retired 2-3 years ago, but 10+ is a bit of a stretch.
posted by tieguy at 01:42 AM on November 06, 2003
[And I'm firmly of the school of thought that says that when you've done as much for a school as he has, he should get to coach until he dies, presuming he doesn't pull a Halas-style boner.]
posted by tieguy at 01:43 AM on November 06, 2003
You can't let sentimentality kill your football program. Prep stars often choose schools on the basis of how good the program is expected to be in coming years. Every year, Florida, FSU, and Miami reload on that basis. It's getting close to the point where none of today's incoming freshmen would have ever seen a good Penn State team. Now that Paterno's program is as much of a discipline problem as Barry Switzer's final Oklahoma teams, I think it's time to tell Paterno that next year will be his swan song.
posted by rcade at 05:34 AM on November 06, 2003
I think honor and respectability should be more important to a university than the football program. So treating JoePa right is (to me) more important than succeeding in football. The exception there is for discipline problems, which also tarnish the honor/respectability/etc. of the university. So if that's actually the case that he's lost control... then yeah, he needs to be moved out. Otherwise he deserves a decade of 0-11 if he wants it.
posted by tieguy at 08:11 AM on November 06, 2003
yesPa...... I know noPa was the better-sounding answer for rcade's set-up, but I think it's the wrong one in this situation