Joe Paterno profile

BOWL PREVIEW: Getting to know the PSU coach

Courtesy of Penn State Athletic Communications

In his 44th season as head coach of the Nittany Lions, Joe Paterno led his squad to a second-consecutive season with at least 10 wins and an FBS record 21st overall under the legendary coach. In his 60th season on the Penn State coaching staff (15 as an assistant), Paterno has shown no signs of slowing down leading the Lions to a 50-13 (79.3) record since the start of the 2005 season (No. 8 nationally in win percentage) and an FBS record 36th bowl appearance under the coach.

Returning to the Penn State sidelines in the 2009 season after having successful hip replacement surgery the day after the Nittany Lions clinched the 2008 Big Ten title with a win over Michigan State, Paterno guided a Penn State team that led the Big Ten in total offense (412.5 ypg) and was No. 2 in scoring offense (29.7 ppg) while continuing a tradition of dominant defense as the only team in the nation ranked in the Top 20 of the six primary defensive categories (top 10 in five). Defensive tackle Jared Odrick became the 77th first-team All-American under Paterno and for the second-consecutive season Penn State led all Football Bowl Subdivision teams in ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America selections with three (the Lions had five last year). Six Nittany Lions earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and record-setting quarterback Daryll Clark was named co-winner of the prestigious Chicago Tribune Silver Football, presented to the Big Ten Conference’s Most Valuable Player. The architect of the “Grand Experiment” also proudly saw his Nittany Lion team post the highest federal graduation rate (89 percent) among teams ranked the Associated Press Top 25 (Nov. 29).

In his 60th season as a member of the Penn State coaching staff, Paterno is not fond of looking back, but it has been a memorable period for the legendary mentor. The Lions won their third Big Ten title under Paterno in 2008 and returned to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1994. Paterno was selected the 2008 Big Ten Dave McClain Coach-of-the-Year, winning the honor for the third time, second only to Bo Schembechler’s four selections in the award’s history. In December 2007, he was inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. The five-time National Coach-of-the-Year was selected for induction in 2006, and was set to join two more legendary coaches - Bobby Bowden and John Gagliardi - as the first active coaches or players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Coach Paterno’s induction, though, was deferred until 2007, as the injuries he sustained during a sideline collision in a November game at Wisconsin prevented him from traveling to the 2006 event.

“I have mixed feelings because there were so many people that are not with me any more who made it possible for me,” stated Paterno during the December 4, 2007 induction ceremony.

“How good has it been? What we share in football; there’s never been a greater game. We’ve been involved in the greatest game, the greatest experience anybody could hope for. Great teammates. Guys you could trust. Guys you loved. Guys you would go to war with tomorrow. We’re so lucky…we’re so lucky. If we lose what we have in football, we’ll lose an awful lot in this country and we’ve got to remember that.”

Penn State’s field general since 1966, Paterno moved past another football legend, Amos Alonzo Stagg, for longevity at a single institution among major college coaches in 2007. Stagg was a head coach for 57 years, including 41 at the University of Chicago (1892-1932).

For 60 years and 708 games, Paterno has passionately served the Penn State football program and the university with principle and success with honor. After 16 years as an assistant coach, he was rewarded in 1966 with the head coaching responsibilities surrendered by the retiring Rip Engle, his college coach at Brown who appointed him to the Penn State staff in 1950 as a brash 23-year-old.

He is older now, and wiser, but no less enthusiastic and no less dynamic. He is, simply put, the most successful coach in the history of college football - a fact that was validated during the 2001 season when he moved past Paul “Bear” Bryant to become the leader in career wins by a major college coach. He also is one of the most admired figures in college athletics, an acknowledged icon whose influence extends well beyond the white chalk lines of the football field.

“Even though he is enormously successful at it, from the perspective of meaningful contributions to society, the least important thing Joe Paterno does is coach football,” former Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist Bill Lyon told his readers.

Paterno has faced every situation imaginable on the gridiron and has used his preparation, experience and understanding of the game he loves to respond and keep the Penn State program among the nation’s elite for more than 40 years.

The Lions’ victory over Michigan State on Nov. 22, 2008 was Penn State’s 800th all-time, becoming just the sixth program in the nation to reach the milestone. Paterno has been a member of the Nittany Lion staff for 497 of the wins - 60 percent of the all-time total. Penn State owns a record of 497-177-7 (73.3) since Paterno joined the staff in 1950. He has missed just three games of a possible 681 Penn State contests over 60 seasons.

The 2008 Nittany Lions were led by a senior class that compiled a stellar 40-11 ledger over four years, good for No. 9 in the nation. Penn State was 11-2, recording at least 11 victories for the 14th time under Paterno, and finishing No. 8 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. The Lions won at least 10 games for the 20th time and posted their 22nd Top 10 ranking under his leadership.

A school-record 10 Nittany Lions were selected first-team All-Big Ten in 2008, more than double the second-highest total, and a record 14 players earned first or second-team all-conference accolades. Four Nittany Lions received All-America honors and A.Q. Shipley became Penn State’s first recipient of the Rimington Trophy, presented to the nation’s outstanding center.

It was a record-breaking year for academic accomplishments as well. A program-record five players were selected to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® team, with four on the first team. Penn State’s four first-team selections and five overall selections led the nation, becoming the first school to have five Academic All-America® football players since Nebraska in 1997.

A program-record 55 football student-athletes compiled at least a 3.0 grade-point average during the 2008 fall semester. A record 19 Nittany Lions earned Dean’s List recognition by posting a 3.5 GPA or higher.

The 2007 edition of the Nittany Lions featured the program’s third consecutive winner of the Chuck Bednarik Award. The Nittany Lions’ comeback victory over Texas A&M in the Valero Alamo Bowl was Paterno’s 500th game as head coach, as he added to his all-time record with bowl victory No. 23.

It came as no surprise that less than two weeks after undergoing surgery on his left leg in November 2006, Paterno was back in Beaver Stadium, observing his team from the coaches’ booth for the regular-season finale against Michigan State. He has missed just three games of a possible 656 Penn State contests over 58 seasons.

The 2005 Lions are a squad Paterno will remember fondly. The players and coaches passionately toiled every day to return Penn State to the national championship picture. The Lions compiled an 11-1 record, captured the Big Ten Championship and a triple-overtime win over Bowden’s Florida State squad in the 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl.

The 11-win season represented another milestone, as Penn State recorded at least 10 victories under Paterno in a fifth decade and for the 19th time overall. The Lions were No. 3 in the polls, earning their 13th Top 5 finish.

For his leadership in restoring the Nittany Lions to the nation’s elite, Paterno was recognized with numerous National Coach-of-the-Year honors, capped by an unprecedented fifth selection by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). He also received national honors from the Associated Press, Bobby Dodd, Home Depot/ESPN, Maxwell Football Club (George Munger), Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., The Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

A member of the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff spanning the administrations of 12 U.S. presidents (starting with Harry Truman), Paterno passed Bryant on October 27, 2001 when the Lions secured his 324th victory by rallying from a 27-9 deficit to defeat Ohio State, 29-27, in the greatest Beaver Stadium comeback under the legendary coach.

Paterno has posted a 393-129-3 mark in 44 seasons as head coach and ranks first in career wins among major college coaches and fourth all-time. He passed Bowden (388 wins) on Sept. 20, 2008. His winning percentage of 75.1 is third-best among active Division I-A coaches (10 or more years) and he is second all-time in games coached (525) among major college coaches.

Paterno is the all-time leader among coaches in bowl appearances (35) and post-season triumphs (23). His overall post-season record of 23-11-1 gives him a winning percentage of 67.14, good for No. 3 among the bowl season’s best of all-time. The Nittany Lions are 16-7 in New Year’s Day bowl games under Paterno and 12-5 in contests that comprise the Bowl Championship Series.

Since Paterno took over in 1966, Penn State has had 77 first-team All-Americans, with defensive end Aaron Maybin and Shipley earning first-team honors in 2008. Over the same span, the Lions have counted 15 Hall of Fame Scholar-Athletes, 32 first-team Academic All-Americans (45 overall) and 18 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship honorees.