Joe Paterno: Former Penn State Coach's Health Rumored to Be Failing

UPDATE: Sunday, Jan. 22, 10:30 a.m. ET by Donald Wood

According to the Associated Press, former Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno has passed away. He was 85 years old.

After a wild night of speculation and false reporting, Paterno succumbed to his battle with cancer after seeing his family one last time. While his career and life ended in controversy, Joe Pa will always be remembered as one of the good guys in an age of rule breakers and risk takers in college football.

The PSU family will never be the same.

UPDATE: Sunday, Jan. 22, 10:10 a.m. ET by Donald Wood

While the reports of Paterno’s death were false last night, his family has the unenviable task of deciding whether or not to remove the ailing coach from the artificial breathing apparatus he has been on since earlier this week.

The Washington Post is reporting on Joe Pa’s health status and what questions the family has to face:

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Despite media reports Saturday night of Paterno’s death, his son, Jay, said through his personal Twitter account at 9:21 p.m. that Paterno “is continuing to fight.” Paterno remained connected to a ventilator, according to individuals close to Paterno’s family, and his family was weighing whether to take him off the ventilator on Sunday.

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There may be nothing harder in this world than saying goodbye to someone you love, but those difficulties are only compounded when the decision is left up to the family on whether or not to pull the plug. We can only hope that the Paterno family does what’s best for them and their lives.

Update: Saturday, January 21st at 9:25 p.m. EST

of the New York Times, Paterno family spokesman Dan McGinn says reports of Paterno's death are "absolutely not true".

That contradicts this Tweet, from CBS Sports.

Initial Update:

Joe Paterno's fight against lung cancer has allegedly taken a turn for the worse.

According to Onward State, the former Penn State head football coach is at home and has been taken off a respirator:

Tom McAndrew of Blue-White Illustrated is reporting that Paterno's extended family has been called to his bedside:

However, Stephen Shiflett of the Daily Collegian, the student newspaper at Penn State, reports that Paterno's death is hardly imminent, as the flood of rumors would suggest:

On the other hand, Mike Sisak of The Citizens' Voice in Wilkes-Barre suggests that Paterno is, in fact, on his death bed and that the coach's relatives are on their way to State College to say goodbye and pay their respects to him:

Dan McGinn, a spokesman for the Paterno family, confirmed the news of JoePa's failing health in a brief statement to the Associated Press:

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"Over the last few days Joe Paterno has experienced further health complications. His doctors have now characterized his status as serious. His family will have no comment on the situation and asks that their privacy be respected during this difficult time"

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The Nittany Lions legend was deposed of his duties back in November in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Paterno was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly thereafter and has been in a local hospital since January 13th while dealing with health complications related to his treatment.

The winningest coach in NCAA Division I football history, Paterno spent 62 years on the Penn State staff, including 46 as the head coaching. His Nittany Lions teams piled up 409 victories over that span, with three Big Ten titles and two national championships along the way.

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