Paterno: I’ll Be Back

Joe Paterno was bound to hear the rumors: Now that he has broken Bear Bryant’s record for victories, the Penn State coach was going to retire.

What he didn’t expect was having to address the rumors before his season-ending news conference.

“Sunday night I had two calls--actually I had one call, but the guy told me he had had two calls--that this was going to be a press conference to announce my retirement,” Paterno said. “I said, ‘No. I’m going to announce that I’m applying for the Notre Dame job.’ ”

Paterno on Friday will celebrate his 75th birthday. His 36-year tenure as Penn State’s coach is the longest in NCAA Division I-A. “I hope I can go another five years, I don’t know. You have to be realistic, but I really have not put any limitation on how long I want to coach,” he said.

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Lou Holtz won’t come out and say he’s not interested in returning to Notre Dame, but the South Carolina coach told his players that he will stay with them. Holtz addressed the team before workouts in preparation for the Outback Bowl.... Kansas freshman quarterback Mario Kinsey was kicked off the team by new Coach Mark Mangino. Kinsey’s problems away from the field included being charged in May with marijuana possession and a September charge of misdemeanor counts of theft of lost or mislaid property and two counts of criminal use of a financial card.... Washington backup tight end Kevin Ware pleaded innocent to a charge of third-degree felony assault in an attack on a police officer. He has been suspended from the team indefinitely.... Oregon offensive tackle Mike Belisle, whose career never developed because of injuries, has decided to quit football.... Louisiana State running back LaBrandon Toefield underwent surgery on his left knee to repair a torn ligament and is expected to make a full recovery. Toefield suffered the injury in the Southeast Conference championship game against Tennessee.