Shooting from the lip

CHICAGO -- It was a simple, yet reasonable, question directed toward the winningest coach in Division I college football . Why is 82-year-old Penn State coach Joe Paterno and his newly replaced hip coming back to patrol the Nittany Lions' sidelines for a 44th season? Why, when he and Suzanne, his wife of 47 years, simply could walk away from the critics and pressures of the game to enjoy more time with the 17 grandkids? "I just enjoy it," Paterno said recently while addressing the media he, at times, loves to hate at the Big Ten Conference media days. "I've enjoyed coaching, the competition, the challenges and being around young people. I don't know what else I'd rather do." So when does Paterno expect to eventually hang up his famous black, high-top football shoes? "There's going to come a time when I'm going to look in that mirror and say, 'Hey, you're not doing your job (and) just going through the motions,' " Paterno said. "I don't think I've reached that yet. "Right now, I'm enjoying it. I can do a good job. I've got a heck of a staff. We've been able to recruit fairly well, and we're looking forward to the kind of competition we have in the Big Ten. "I'm just reluctant to get out of it right now." Paterno will pad his current 383-127-3 record with a favorable 2009 schedule. It consists of non-conference games against lowly Akron, Syracuse, Temple and Eastern Illinois, and includes Big Ten home dates with Iowa and Ohio State, while the Nittany Lions take their chances on the road at Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State. Just don't ask Paterno, who was 11-2 last season and tied Ohio State for the Big Ten title, to apologize for another soft non-league slate in which all four foes had losing records in 2008. "I couldn't tell you what their records were," Paterno said. "When we scheduled Syracuse, they were doing really well. At that time, (former Orange coach) Paul Pasqualoni, who played for me and was a (graduate assistant) on our staff, was the head coach. The head coach at Temple (Al Golden) was captain of one of our teams, and it's a Philadelphia game. "We don't have to make excuses. Right now, I don't know how good anybody else is. I don't know how good we are." More wins to come Penn State returns six offensive starters, led by quarterback Darryl Clark and tailback Evan Royster, and four defensive starters, none from the secondary. Those numbers, however, do not include 11 additional offensive lettermen and 18 defensive lettermen, including nine with starting experience who are back in the fall. "I'm reluctant to start talking about the team because there are areas where we definitely have concerns, and one is the offensive line," Paterno said. That also is why Paterno doesn't hold back punches when defending good friend and Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who stands one win from Paterno with a 382-123-4 mark in 43 total years of coaching. The NCAA is threatening to take away 14 of Bowden's wins because of an academic scandal in his program. "It's ridiculous the NCAA would take wins away from him," Paterno said as his high-pitched voice rose. If Bowden, 79, does keep all 383 victories, he eventually could catch Paterno on the all-time wins list. He also could stay around longer than JoePa to eventually set the all-time record. "I'm not interested in who wins the most games," Paterno said. "Bobby has been a great credit to the game and has done a marvelous job. If it turns out he's got more wins when he retires than I have when I retire, so be it. Why the big fuss about it? "It just bothers me that the NCAA would use him almost as a scapegoat for some things that went on at Florida State. I hope they let him keep his wins." That is typical Joe Paterno. He may dislike the media on occasion, and he may have his critics -- I, for one, in the past -- who have long said it is time for him to retire. But football's elder statesman is honest to a fault, and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. Especially when defending a fellow legend, such as Bowden, and college football , in general.