CHICAGO -- Joe Paterno stood behind the dais at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. With questions firing at him concerning rumors there is a succession plan in place for the longtime Penn State coach, Paterno had to spell out his answer for reporters who asked him about his contract situation.
"Can we get off of that? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Do I have to spell it for you?" Paterno said. "I-D-O-N-T -- You can find it on the blog tonight. How many times do I have to say it? I'm having fun. I'm enjoying it and that's the way it's going to go."
Paterno's contract expires after this season, and no plans for the future have been made between the coach and the Penn State administration. Penn State officials and Paterno have said they will wait until after this season to come up with a plan for the future.
Paterno himself has not named a successor but has said he hopes it would be someone from within the program. He has also said he would be fine with a year-to-year contract.
Purdue head coach and close friend of Paterno, Joe Tiller, said once Paterno decides to step down, college football will miss "a real leader and a visionary guy."
"Somebody is going to have to coach there someday," Tiller said. "If I were [Penn State Athletic Director] Tim Curley I would try to sign him to another long-term contract, maybe another 40 years or so, but that's probably not going to happen."
Tiller is in his final year at Purdue and will step down after this season. Tiller will be replaced by current associate head coach, Danny Hope.
Tiller, who recently returned from a fishing trip in Wyoming, said he "gravitate[s] toward Coach Paterno more than [any other coach]" and said he's always enjoyed the camaraderie he and Paterno and their wives share.
Paterno's career mark against Tiller is 7-2. The two will meet on opposite sidelines for the last time on Oct. 4 in West Lafayette, Ind.
When asked if he confided with Tiller when contemplating his own future, Paterno teased his buddy.
"You think I'm going to with some guy who sits on his rear end and fishes for advice," Paterno said. "You're crazy. That's exactly what I would tell him. Joe's got to do it his way and I have to do it my way.
"I'm having a lot of fun. I don't want to get out of it, but I don't want to be too stupid that I go so far that I'm not going to be able to leave it the way I want to."
Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, who is in his 34th year of coaching and is 5-2 against Paterno, said it would be hard to imagine a Penn State sideline without Paterno. Tressel predicted this wouldn't be the last season for the 81-year-old coach.
"He's been the head coach at Penn State throughout my coaching lifetime," Tressel said. "He's helped not just the game of football but he's helped intercollegiate athletics through hurdles and so many things. It will be hard to imagine, but if I were a better man I'd say he'll be there in 2009."
