STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — PENN STATE Paterno returning
Joe Paterno plans to return as Penn State coach next season, ending the latest round of speculation about retirement.
The Nittany Lions (7-4) meet No. 10 Michigan State in the regular-season finale Saturday, and some fans and members of the media were wondering if this would be the 83-year-old Hall of Famer’s final appearance at Beaver Stadium. Illness slowed him down in the offseason, and the Nittany Lions’ midseason stumbles even had some fans griping for change.
The rumor mill churned anew in recent weeks, but major college football’s winningest coach said Tuesday at Beaver Stadium he hadn’t even given thought to leaving a job he’s held a record 45 seasons.
“I had no intentions, and I’ve never indicated to anybody, including myself, that I was not coming back,” he said on the Big Ten coaches teleconference. “No, it’s always been in my mind that now is not the time to go. I think we’ve got a good young team. They may not be there yet but they will be soon.”
And with Paterno leading them again. He turns 84 on Dec. 21.
“Joe Paterno publicly confirms what we suspected all along - he will be back coaching Penn State in 2011,” son and quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno tweeted.
The 2011 season would be the last year of a three-year extension signed in late 2008.
NEBRASKA
Coordinator sorry, too
LINCOLN, Neb. - The apologies are piling up at Nebraska.
Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said Tuesday that he’s sorry for his actions after the 9-6 loss at Texas A&M over the weekend. A day earlier, his brother, Coach Bo Pelini, offered an apology for his sideline behavior during the game.
While he was on his way to the locker room, Carl Pelini grabbed a video camera held by a reporter for a Texas A&M fan website. A couple parts of the camera’s eyepiece were torn off.
“It was a very emotional situation, and the mob scene on the field after the game amplified that,” Carl Pelini said in a statement. “Having been involved in a similar situation in 2003 at Missouri, and in witnessing the situation on the field, I made a poor decision in trying to prevent a reporter from recording the scene.”
Brandon Jones, co-owner of Tex-Ags.com, said Pelini called to apologize Tuesday morning.
“I’m very content with the apology,” Jones said. “It was complete and sincere. That’s all I was looking for.”
Jones said Bo Pelini also called to apologize, and he received a call from Athletic Director Tom Osborne. Jones said Carl Pelini offered to pay for any damage to the camera, but there was none.
Bo Pelini had said Tuesday that Carl was trying to pull a Nebraska player out of a group of people when he met up with Jones.
“Apparently he went through the camera to get [to the player], and if something happened to the camera, I know Carl regrets that it happened,” Bo Pelini told reporters. “That’s what happened, and I talked to the player that was involved, too.”
Video of the incident didn’t support Bo Pelini’s account. Carl Pelini said Bo “did not have all the facts” and that he “wasn’t fully prepared for the question.”
“Hopefully this statement will erase all doubts about the situation and allow everyone to put it behind us,” Carl Pelini said.
Sports, Pages 26 on 11/24/2010