Paterno, Meyer want to end season with W

Associated Press

tampa, fla.

Penn State’s Joe Paterno took one more opportunity to say he has no plans to retire, and Urban Meyer stiffarmed another set of questions regarding personal feelings about coaching his final game at Florida.

The last news conference leading up to the Outback Bowl featured a couple of guys a lot more interested in ending largely disappointing seasons on a winning note than turning Saturday into a big farewell party.

“I think we’re ready,” the 84-year-old Paterno said Friday. “Whether we’re good enough, we’ll find out.”

“I think the older players will play like there’s no tomorrow,” Meyer offered, adding he hopes Florida’s younger players will take their cue from the veterans in the two-time national championship-winning coach’s finale — at least with the Gators (7-5).

There are already indications that Meyer may be headed for a job in broadcasting, and there’s a general feeling this game will not be his last hurrah in coaching.

Paterno, meanwhile, is winding up his 45th season at Penn State (7-5) and seems intent on returning for a 46th.

He stepped up on the podium on the eve of the Nittany Lions’ 37th bowl appearance under him and was asked to make some general comments about the team’s preparation before opening the floor to questions from reporters.

“I have no comment,” Paterno began. “I have no plans to retire, all right? Can I get that one out of the way?”

Since arriving in Tampa before Christmas, the all-time bowl wins leader with 24 has repeatedly shrugged off questions stemming from speculation about his health and whether the Outback Bowl will be his last game.

Nittany Lions athletic director Tim Curley has said he plans to meet with the coach some time in January and that he expects Paterno to return for the 2011 season.

Penn State’s players say none of the talk has been a distraction.

“Every year around this time people say he’s sick and he’s done, but he comes back every single year. Until he says it, I really don’t think about it,” junior cornerback D’Anton Lynn said.

“He’s doing the same stuff he’s been doing since I was here my freshman year. He looks no different to me.”

All the attention on Paterno has enabled Meyer, whose announced his resignation on Dec. 8, to go about his business a bit under the radar this week.

The 46-year-old coach resigned for the second time in a year, stepping away from a program he guided to national titles two of the past four seasons because of health concerns and a desire to spend more time with his family.

He fended off questions Friday about how he thinks he’ll feel waking up Sunday without a team to coach, saying he’s always stressed the importance of focus to his players and that it would not be fair to them to discuss his future when there’s still a game ahead.