The last time Bob Spoo talked with Joe Paterno, there was one thing he remembered Paterno didn't like.
Back when the Eastern Illinois coach was an assistant coach at Purdue, Spoo remembers going on a visit to State College to pick up ideas to bring back to the Boilermakers.
When Spoo was introduced to Paterno, he remembers Purdue's use of the shotgun being an issue with the Penn State coach.
"I don't think Joe Paterno was very fond of that at the time," Spoo said. "But like all good coaches, he's adapted -- I don't know if he remembers that or not."
Of course, the Lions have since then incorporated the Spread HD offense, but now the two men's programs meet on the football field for the first time. Spoo didn't set foot on Beaver Stadium's grass when he visited in the mid-1980s and met Paterno, but that finally changes this weekend.
Spoo, who was himself a Boilermakers quarterback and had the tough task of replacing NFL Hall-of-Famer Len Dawson, coached Purdue's Scott Campbell, Jim Everett and Mark Herrmann, three signal callers who also played in the NFL.
Purdue's passing prowess led to Herrmann finishing fourth in Heisman Trophy voting in 1980 as the Boilermakers made four bowl games in his nine seasons -- spanning at least a part of two coaching tenures -- at his alma mater.
Spoo, now in his early 70s, arrived on Purdue's staff under Jim Young and remained there through 1986, when he finished as Leon Burtnett's offensive coordinator.
"He's always been a great coach," Burtnett said. "He's very good family man. He was a great player at Purdue. Purdue's always meant a lot to Bob."
Burtnett was named the Big Ten's coach of the year in 1984 and is currently an assistant coach at Houston.
Despite making stops as an assistant coach for Purdue and earlier at Wisconsin, Spoo got his first head coaching experience with Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill.
Spoo's reign lasted for six years at the school, which is where current Penn State fullback Joe Suhey attended high school.
While there from 1967 to 1972, Spoo went 51-9-2, including an undefeated 11-0 peak in 1969.
That run during Spoo's tenure is known as the heyday of Loyola Academy's football, said the school's Director of Athletics, Patrick Mahoney.
"I don't personally know coach Spoo, but I know he's a very legendary coach at Loyola," Mahoney said. "The players loved playing for him."
Spoo's path didn't reach Eastern Illinois until 1987, and he's compiled a 136-110-1 record at the school while missing a season in 2006 with a medical illness.
Despite tying for the fifth-longest tenure at a Division I school by arriving in 1987 -- the same year Frank Beamer started at Virginia Tech -- Spoo has been with the Panthers for just half as much time as Paterno has been the head coach of Penn State.
Both head coaches lead their programs in career victories and led their teams to new territory with conference affiliation.
Paterno and the Nittany Lions were independents before joining the Big Ten in 1993 and Spoo's Panthers joined the Ohio Valley Conference in 1996 after being in the Gateway Football Conference.
"I'm just amazed and have great respect for coach Paterno," Spoo said. "He's a true warrior and a great role model for all coaches. He'll continue to be the winningest coach in Division I football. It's an honor and privilege to go out and compete against him."
Despite coaching at the Football Championship Subdivision level, Spoo doesn't particularly miss coaching in what is now called the Football Bowl Subdivision.
"There's a saying in the coaching profession: You get hired to be fired," Spoo said. "I've been through that a number of times. In 1986, my last year at Purdue, I had gotten let go. I needed a place to find work, and there was an opportunity at Eastern Illinois."
Spoo interviewed for the job and is now the dean of the Ohio Valley coaches.
Despite this, it wasn't always blue skies in Charleston, Ill.
Back in 1994, Eastern Illinois opened up just 2-5 and Spoo said he got a letter stating he needed a winning season to stay on as coach.
The Panthers promptly went 4-0 the rest of the season and even finished 10-2 in 1995.
Although the Panthers were just 5-7 last season, they are off to a 4-1 start in 2009 and are ranked No. 25 in the FCS.
"Well, he's one of those guys that's been around for a long time," Paterno said. "In the old days, when I was younger, I used to go to all the [American Football Coaches Association] meetings and sit around and shoot the bull with all those guys or go to clinics. So, I don't know him as a friend, but ... this is not the first time I've looked at one of his teams."
Recent success has been nothing new for the program under Spoo, as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo started for three seasons and won 25 games, leading the Panthers to three postseason appearances.
Romo received the top individual honor in the FCS in 2002 when he won the Walter Payton Award as the most outstanding football player at that level.
Like Spoo, Paterno also faced criticism, especially in the early 2000s, when the Lions posted four losing seasons in five years, in-cluding going a combined 7-16 in 2003 and 2004.
Those losing days ended in 2005, when Michael Robinson became the full-time starting quarterback, and Penn State has gone 44-12 since.
"It's been our life for so many years, why leave it if you don't have to?" Spoo said. "I give credit to Penn State for keeping him in. He's a role model for all coaches."
As for how much longer Spoo anticipates he'll remain as head coach, his sentiments are almost an echo of Paterno's.
"I don't know what I'd do if I didn't," Spoo said. "I don't have any hobbies to fall back on. I think the basic thing is, it's a competitiveness that you still have."
