It's not often Joe Paterno has the opportunity to accomplish something he's never done before.

After all, the 81-year-old coach has claimed just about everything a college football coach can during his 43-year career, including a Football Bowl Subdivision record 383 wins, a record 23 bowl victories and five American Football Coaches Association coach of the year awards.

But for the first time ever, Paterno was named one of 10 finalists for the 2008 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.

The award was started in 2006, which may explain its absence from Paterno's trophy case, and is presented annually to the person who "best exemplifies excellence in coaching, on and off the field."

Voters are instructed to consider a candidate's coaching excellence, sportsmanship, academic excellence and community commitment.

The winner is selected by a combination of votes from fans, members of the College Football Hall of Fame and the national media.

A member of the voting panel, Keith McMillan, a copy editor for the Washington Post and columnist for d3football.com, said there are usually two thought processes when determining a winner.

Some voters, he said, automatically choose the candidate with the most wins and top national ranking.

Others, like McMillan, look for coaches who lead turnarounds.

"I am most impressed by a team that wasn't very successful the season before but pulled off a great improvement," McMillan said.

"Another big thing I look for is a program that won a lot of close games, the kind that were toss-ups in the fourth quarter or overtime."

Penn State entered the fourth quarter with a lead less than 17 points only four times this season.

McMillan said he also strongly considers coaches of perennial powerhouses who turn an inexperienced team into a championship contender.

Penn State's roster included 11 underclassmen starters.

Fans can vote for the award at www.coachoftheyear.com from Dec. 12-22, with the fan vote accounting for 20 percent of the final total.

The other nine nominees for the award are Mack Brown (Texas), Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern), Brady Hoke (Ball State), Urban Meyer (Florida), Chris Petersen (Boise State), Nick Saban (Alabama), Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Jim Tressel (Ohio State) and Kyle Whittingham (Utah).

The Coach of the Year Award winner will be announced on ESPN during halftime of the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31.