Allen Fredrickson / Reuters file

Penn State coach Joe Paterno suffered a broken leg in a sideline collision Saturday.

Mike Celizic

You’ve got to admire Joe Paterno’s toughness. Heck, go ahead and be in awe of it. The guy’s 79 years old and he tries to keep coaching on a broken leg and damaged knee. As all those who know him attest, he’s one tough old coot.

The day after a sideline collision with one of his own players eventually forced him to leave the field during Penn State’s fourth loss of the season, the patron saint of the Nittany Lions was back at work, looking at game films and getting started on the next game plan. There seems to be no question that he will be in the stadium Saturday when Penn State plays Temple, a team Penn State can beat with no coaches at all.

But whether he’s needed or not makes no difference. Joe Paterno took over as head coach in Happy Valley in 1966 and he’s not giving up the job, not for a broken leg and not for anything else. He’s often asked why he should give up something he loves doing.

There’s nothing wrong with that attitude, and it would be a wonderful world if everyone could say that. But Paterno’s injury and his attitude do raise a serious question for Penn State: At what time, if ever, does the administration ask him to be a good fellow and retire?

This broken leg would seem to be an ideal time to pull the plug on one of the greatest coaching careers in the history of any sport. Gently point out that the sideline is dangerous place for a man who will turn 80 on Dec. 21, and, since he has to retire someday, why not now?

There are a number of reasons for considering such action. One is that the alternative is facing up to the possibility that Paterno will die on the sideline some day. Either that, or the university must prepare for the time when Paterno, whose patience with what he perceives to be bad calls diminishes by the year, finally goes over the edge and does a Woody Hayes, only to an official instead of to an opposing player.

These are not exaggerations. Paterno isn’t going to resign. And, when you think about it, he shouldn’t be expected to. As he says, he loves the job, and I’ve always felt that no one should voluntarily quit doing the one thing that defines him. Players should play until someone tears the uniforms off them. Coaches should coach until someone takes away their headphones and clipboards.

MIKE CELIZIC ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL Say goodbye to Bowden It's not easy, but it's time for Florida St. to part with coach msnbc.com

I wouldn’t blame him if he said he wants to die on the sidelines, either.

What better way to go than doing what you most enjoy? I’d like to die a minute after sending off another column. (Some would say the timing would benefit if the end came a minute before I sent it.) But I won’t have to worry about that. Someone else will decide when I’m finished, the same as it works for most of us. We can keep doing what we do, but it will be a hobby, not a job. The only people who aren’t self-employed and still get to hang on jobs until they die are Supreme Court justices, popes, crowned heads and dictators.

In State College, Pa., Paterno is viewed as a saint, which might be confused with a lifetime appointment. And he is a darned good example of what a football coach ought to be, generous with his money and a proponent of education and values. But he’s still a coach, which means that accusations of sainthood are exaggerated; the two professions are mutually exclusive.

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures A kayaker flips out, a racehorse eyes the Triple Crown and more. more photos

But a few years ago, there was a growing movement among Penn State alumni to force Paterno out. It wasn’t because he wasn’t a saint anymore, but because he wasn’t winning football games. A Web site, firejoepaterno.com, opened and the more the losses mounted, the shriller the cry for his head.

Then last year, the Nittany Lions went 10-1 in the regular season and beat Paterno’s fellow septuagenarian, Bobby Bowden, in the Orange Bowl, a truly marvelous accomplishment. To mark the achievement, the firejoepaterno site added a mirror page called keepjoepaterno.com.

More news

Michael Conroy / AP

'Not facing any major ... violations'

CFT: Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith clarifies the confusion he created with his commments earlier this week.

Sandusky charity to shut down, transfer programs

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The charity for troubled youths started by Jerry Sandusky more than three decades ago - and through which the retired Penn State assistant football coach met the boys he is charged with sexually abusing - said Friday it is seeking court approval to shut down and transfer its programs to a Texas-based youth ministry that serves abused and neglected children.

Headlines

• Label

CFT: Notre Dame AD expects to be at playoff table

3 arrested Arkansas players no longer part of team

Tennessee suspends TE after arrest

CFT: Texas AD says Big 12 doesn't need to expand

CFT: Alabama-Michigan set for prime-time

CFT: Bolden reportedly won't leave Penn St.

CFT: Paterno’s state pension totals $13.4 million

PHT: Ex-Clemson RB Bellamy going to Miss. JC