Hall of Famer Joe Paterno

Congratulations to Penn State football coach, and in some families such as my own, a man worth putting on top of the Christmas tree, Joe Paterno for his recent election into the college football hall of fame. Needless to say it was a matter of time. Perhaps the Hall committee got tired of waiting for he and Florida State coach Bobby Bowden to retire. Both men deserve to be in the Hall, although I'll say JoePa deserves it more. :)

What troubles me is that today I read an article by a columnist stating that now is the time for Paterno to walk away from coaching. Not only is this a tired, old discussion (not to mention out of season) but it is irresponsible for a writer of his lack of caliber to be calling out the great Hall of Fame coach, saying that there is nothing else for him to accomplish, as if the man is so narcissist that he wants to coach just for his accomplishments. The mark of a great coach is a knowledge and passion for the game; two attributes that Paterno has and can probably be unrivaled in that category. It is especially uncalled for when the man is coming off of an 11-1 record and looks to have brought Penn State back to winning ball games and making trips to bowl games in the next few years.