Penn State Icon Joe Paterno Injured in Sideline Collision, Won't Be Out Long

How many blindside collisions can one man take?

Joe Paterno is 84-years-old. During a practice on Sunday, Paterno was accidentally blindsided by one of his receivers.

This is not the first time this has happened to the icon, who has been Penn State's Head Coach since 1966.

In 2006, the Nittany Lions were playing Wisconsin when Paterno broke his leg in similar fashion.

In 2008, Paterno suffered a hip injury while attempting to demonstrate an onside kick.

Following Sunday's collision, Paterno went to the hospital. He's still there and undergoing tests, but surgery does not appear to be necessary and Paterno doesn't expect to miss any time on the sideline.

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“I expect to be back at practice soon. I'm doing fine; tell everyone not to worry about me. I like the effort I have seen from the squad during our first few practices, but we have a long way to go to get ready for the schedule we have.”

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As of now, things are okay, even somewhat humorous. It's certainly not funny that Paterno is hurt and in the hospital, but the fact that the injury is not serious makes the situation a bit more comical.

But this is the third time in five years that Paterno has been hurt. He'll be 85 years old in December. It's fortunate that Paterno is fine, but he very easily could have been seriously injured.

Also, remember that collisions aren't the only thing Paterno has to worry about. While the football season is generally over by the time the worst part of the winter comes around, he coaches in Pennsylvania.

When Penn St. goes on the road, they're going to places where the weather is as cold, if not colder.

In 1990, former Bears, Rams and Redskins Coach George Allen died less than two months after his team poured a bucket of cold water over his head after his last win.

That didn't directly kill him, but he was sick for the final month and a half of his life.

The older you get, the more susceptible you are to things like bitter cold. It's harder to overcome these things, as well as bone shattering collisions.

As hard as it is to imagine a college football season without Joe Paterno, it may be time to consider that.

At this point in his life, what does Paterno possibly feel that he needs to prove as a coach? He's already the winningest coach in FBS history.

It wasn't too long ago where people were criticizing Paterno, saying that the game had passed him by. Honestly, he's pretty much silenced those critics. Since 2004's 4-7 season, Penn St. is a combined 58-19.

That's very respectable for a guy who is supposedly out of touch with the game and its players. There are coaches half his age that would kill to have a six season record like that.

While coaches getting hurt is not a common occurrence, it happens on a relatively routine basis. After all, they are standing only a few feet away from a hard hitting sport that's played with a lot of speed.

Paterno's been lucky. While he did break his leg in 2006, none of these injuries have resulted in long term injuries.

The next one could. It's on Paterno to take steps to be sure that there is no next one. If retirement isn't an option, then he should at least stand a little further away from the action.