It's been five years since Joe Paterno held the NCAA career wins record. But when Penn State takes on Coastal Carolina at noon Saturday in Beaver Stadium, Paterno will have his chance to share the lead again.
Paterno, in his 43rd year at the helm of the Nittany Lions, sits at 372 career wins, one behind his Florida State counterpart Bobby Bowden. With Florida State off this weekend, a Penn State win will tie Paterno with Bowden.
But Paterno has never been one to boast about his own achievements and when talk about the record arose this week, he just pushed it aside.
"When they bury me they're going to put on my gravestone, 'You were one win ahead of Bobby Bowden?' No," Paterno said. "If he comes out with more wins than I do, I'm glad it's him."
The two coaches have been friends for years, and were even supposed to share an enshrinement into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006, but a broken leg suffered in a loss at Wisconsin forced Paterno to push the honor back a year.
Both Paterno and Bowden are considered legends in their field, but have also been criticized in recent years for staying in coaching and not retiring. Paterno's contract with Penn State expires at the end of the year and there have been no negotiations to renew it.
But just because Paterno is a member of the octogenarian club and has his critics doesn't mean his players don't respect him and want him to continue to coach.
Junior punter Jeremy Boone said Paterno can still connect with the team, even if the 55-plus-year age difference between him and his players would qualify for AARP.
Boone said he remembers one day at practice last fall when the rest of the team was stretching and the kickers and punters were off by themselves.
"He came over and he said, 'You guys have to help wherever you can. Don't do any of this,' and he gave a hand motion of talking. I said, "But coach, all we do is talk football,' he goes, 'Yea, yea, I'm sure, how do you spell it? G-I-R-L-S,' and he just started laughing and walked away," Boone said. "We couldn't stop laughing."
But Beaver Stadium is where Paterno gained his notoriety and where he has a chance to reclaim a record he once held, even if it's shared.
Coastal Carolina head coach Dave Bennett said he didn't know he could be witnessing history tomorrow. The 11th-year coach -- six at Coastal Carolina -- said Paterno and Bowden are legends and college football will be sorely lacking when they retire.
Bennett remembers the 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl, when Paterno and Bowden squared off in a game matching the men with the two highest win totals in college football history.
"I called my dad, he's 76, when Bowden and Paterno were coaching in the bowl game and I said, 'Pops, these guys are older than you and they're still doing a heck of a job.' " Bennett said. "Those two guys, to me, are icons in the coaching profession and I hate to hear people say, 'When are they gonna retire?' That's their decision. They're great men, class acts, that a lot of us younger coaches look up to."
