Joe Paterno deserves respect

Respect. If there is one thing Penn State football coach Joe Paterno deserves, it is just that. Sadly enough though, the coach who has given his life to Penn State football (54 seasons to be exact) is now being turned upon by fans and media, primarily local, in an effort to oust the 76-year old.\nMany of his critics argue that the game has passed Paterno; he is too old for today's players and style of college football. That is the biggest bunch of garbage (I would use a stronger phrase, but this is a public forum) I have heard in a long time. Well, at least since critics used it against the last old coach they tried to get rid of. Need I remind you of what Paterno and his Nittany Lions did just one year ago?\nIn 2002, Paterno went 9-4, with all four losses coming to teams ranked in the top 15, two of them in overtime and all by less than a touchdown, not to mention a couple of them were, in part, lost due to shoddy officiating. Bad mouthing officials last season got Paterno no more than a verbal reprimand from the Big Ten front office, but gave critics even more fodder for why the game has passed him by. I would like to note that multiple Big Ten coaches also recommended for the league to look into its officiating problems.\nSure, Paterno is struggling this season as his Nittany Lions are 2-8 heading into two final games against IU and Michigan State, but they have been nagged by injuries to key players and also have a very young starting nucleus. I will already predict that next year Penn State will finish with at least eight or nine wins. Penn State could still finish with four this season with a couple of victories to end the year as they have been improving dramatically since the beginning of the season.\nPaterno turns 77 on Dec. 21 and next season would be his 39th year on the sidelines as Penn State's coach. He has accumulated an all-time record of 338-107-3 and despite struggling in recent years, Penn State is 31-27 since 1999. The last time everyone wrote them off was after two seasons just below .500 at 5-6 and 5-7 in 2001 and 2000, respectively, only to turn it around and go 9-4 in 2002.\nPaterno has five perfect seasons and two national titles at the helm of the Nittany Lions, not to mention having led them to 31 bowl games and accrued a stellar 20-10-1 record including winning six of their last eight postseason affairs. Paterno has earned the right to stay at Penn State and leave on his own terms.\nPaterno runs a clean program, molds high school kids into good human beings and has achieved some degree of success in the long tenure. Unless they get out of control on or off the court or field, coaches with long-standing histories with one school have earned the privilege to go out when they want to, not when some low-life fan thinks they are too old. Other coaches that come to mind include Pat Summit, Mike Krzyzewski and even Gene Keady up at Purdue.\nPaterno should be allowed to fulfill his contract with Penn State which runs through 2006. The Nittany Lions knew at the time they signed Paterno to the contract extension that he would be 80 at the time the contract was up, so don't go saying he is too old now.\nBack off Joe Pa, let him do his job, let him leave the sidelines when he decides he no longer wants to coach, and thank him for all he has given college athletics. In other words, just show the man a little respect.