Tampa Latest.. Thursday

Coaches like it when bowl trips are uneventful. And despite an early no-show by receiver Bret Smith, this has been a relatively quite week. And there is nothing wrong with that. Today's personal highlight was hearing from Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno.

Vol fans may have mixed feelings for this guy (he got LeRoy Thompson, and has beaten Tennessee easily in their last two meetings), but Paterno is among the last of
a kind.

He says college coaches are paid too much. That's one reason we may never see a coach last as long as him (41 years). He also says the pressure from boosters is too great-- not on coaches, but on administrators who hire and fire coaches. With humor, Paterno says he's succeeded because he's outlived all of them.

At 80, Paterno shows no sign of quitting. But his latest (knee) injury may prevent him from being on the sideline when the Vols face Penn State on Monday. He has his share of critics, but Phillip Fulmer isn't one of them. Fulmer has an appreciation for the history of college football. He coached against Tom Osborne in his last game for Nebraska. He beat Bobby Bowden in a national title game. On Monday, Fulmer will set his respect aside for 60-minutes and try to beat college football's winningest coach.

By the way, the media hotel gets high marks for their selection of lobby music. It's Jimmy Buffett all the time. I may stay an extra day.