Graham Spanier really needs to keep his yap shut when it comes to sports.

In regards to the apparent declaration to the Board of Trustees that Penn State will not pay big for a new head coach when Joe Pa leaves, Spanier's remarks show just how out of touch he is with what it takes to have a successful football program these days.

The athletic department is fond of crying to alumni how it has to support its own budget through donations and ticket sales.

I don't want to then hear that those donations -- which, let's face it, are brought in mostly by football -- will not be used to hire a big time coach when Joe Pa leaves.

Apparently, Spanier has no need to see a full Beaver Stadium in the fall, since that's what will happen when Tim Curley has to go sifting through the bargain rack hoping to find a merely serviceable coach. And just for the record if Penn State can't afford the next coach, does that mean the second-winningest coach of all time is making only peanuts?

Or is the university satisfied with one great 40-year run and willing to go to the pits of college football?