Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno When the Penn State Nittany Lions take the field in the 2009 Rose Bowl against the USC Trojans, legendary coach Joe Paterno will not be wondering about his future.

According to the Penn State athletic department, the Hall of Famer and winningest coach in major college football history has agreed to a new three-year contract extension.

There was a little concern as to whether or not the deal would get done before the no. 8 Nittany Lions play no. 5 Southern California in the Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day. However, Paterno was not too worried.

"If we can work out something that they are comfortable with and I'm comfortable with before the bowl, fine," Paterno said. "I just get tired of recruits asking me, 'How long are you
going to be there?' But most of them are fine."

The agreement has provided JoePa the opportunity to lead the Nittany Lions through the 2011 season, however, it was also agreed that the parties might re-evaluate their circumstances and alter the arrangement by either shortening or extending its length as necessary.

The details of this new deal were not released, but Paterno reportedly made about $512,000 in 2007.

By comparison, the Penn State head man is nowhere near other big-name coaches such as Alabama's Nick Saban, the highest-paid coach at around $4 million a year.

This Sunday Paterno turns 82 and has continued to be vague as to how longs he wants to coach.

"There's no reason for me not to think that I can go for a while," he said. "Now how long is a while? I don't know."