Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press Penn State coach Joe Paterno waves to the crowd in the fourth quarter of the Nittany Lions' 37-13 win against Michigan State at Beaver Stadium. Click photo for larger image. More Penn State Coverage: Looking ahead: possible starters next year for Penn State's football team

His voice spilled with incredulity -- true incredulity -- when the word (retire) rose with the question (would he?), as if everybody in the room and the town and the state wasn't wondering the exact same thing.

No, Penn State coach Joe Paterno quickly said. Of course he would be back for 2005. After a 4-7 season -- the Nittany Lions' fourth losing season in five years -- some wanted him to change, many wanted him gone, but Paterno wanted none of it, so what more needed to be said? At Penn State, the man in charge of a football program and much more will stay put, because that is what he has always done. He'll rely on his own judgment, because it has gotten him this far.

Paterno finished his 39th year as Penn State head coach and his 55th as a university employee seemingly impervious to the growing faction that hoped against a 40^th and a 56^th. Paterno handled his most recent season by relying, more than ever, on his own will -- on his steadfast desire to keep going as usual.

It helped him and hurt him. During the 2004 season, Paterno adamantly supported quarterback Zack Mills, even as fans and media members suggested freshman Anthony Morelli as a replacement. By season's end, Paterno's evaluation of Mills as the better player seemed indisputable; Mills played well in his final games, while Morelli looked shaky in his scant playing time.

Other times, Paterno's judgment spawned problems. Only in the season's final two weeks did Paterno allow multi-talented junior Michael Robinson to practice full time at wide receiver. That's when the Penn State offense functioned best. And though Paterno had hired new offensive coordinator Galen Hall before the 2004 season, he refused to surrender a system that forced Hall to split play-calling duties with quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno.

Almost mechanically, Paterno makes decisions and sticks with them. He always vouches for stability, reflected in his tendency to favor veteran players and his loyalty to assistant coaches. Paterno has lived in the same house for more than three decades, even as the sizes of his fame and fan base boomed. He refuses to wear a headset on the sideline. He still insists on wearing a tie to games. He keeps Penn State's uniforms traditional -- nearly monastic in their simplicity.

In 1966, when Paterno replaced Rip Engle as head coach, his personality already was hallmarked by self-belief and the desire to do things his way. The next 34 years, during which Paterno led the Lions to 30 bowl games, only buffed that belief. But here's the notable part: the past half-decade of losing, though it has abraded Paterno's career winning percentage, has done nothing to his confidence. It has done nothing to change him.

When asked about the team's recruiting practices, and if they've needed revision in recent seasons, Paterno said "we haven't changed our way at all."

"I know you don't like to hear that, but we built the program a certain way and there are certain convictions we have. We have had success and disappointments, but we believe in certain things. I am not going to change."

Even in the ever-present discussion of his future, Paterno leans on his past. Recently, in acknowledging that Penn State must draft a succession plan, Paterno suggested his replacement should come from his current lot of assistants. Why? In part, Paterno said, because that's the way "we've always tried to do it" -- Paterno was a Penn State assistant before replacing Engle.

In the meantime, Paterno has planted his legs knee-deep into the Penn State soil and dared the stream of time to move him. Only in rumor is Paterno on his way out. This season, Penn State followers started looking for signs of a Paterno exit even in places they didn't exist.

With two weeks left in the season, a Pittsburgh radio station reported that Paterno would soon step down. The university quickly released a statement denying that rumor. Later, when television cameras spotted Paterno tearing up on the Beaver Stadium sideline before Penn State's regular-season finale against Michigan State, gossip quickly flew to the press box that Paterno secretly knew the game would be his last. (Not true, Paterno later said. "I was emotional for Zack [Mills].")

In the week leading up to Penn State's contest against the Spartans, several national news organizations descended on University Park, intent on covering a legend's final bow to the crowd. At times, Paterno seemed to come close. On Wednesday, as he spoke to the State College Quarterback club, a group of local businessmen and supporters, Paterno concluded his speech with a heartfelt thank-you to the gathering.

"I didn't read anything into it," quarterback club president Jim Meister said, "until I got home later and had six phone messages. Then it dawned on me: it almost was like he had been saying goodbye."

But that was never Paterno's intention. Whenever possible, he keeps his distance from the speculation, and though external pressures have increased, Paterno seems numb to the hot seat. Fittingly, Penn State University, per its official record-keeping, has recycled 700 tons of newsprint since 1997. All the better for Paterno, who says he reads none of it. "I haven't read one story any of you guys have written," he told a lot of media members.

He has reminded all willing to listen of his 55-year tenure at Penn State, because Paterno's longevity breeds now his authority. In five separate news conferences this season, he referenced "55," and never was he talking about the uniform number of defensive end Matt Rice.

A sampling, just for fun: "I've spent 55 years doing [this]." ... "This is a program I have been around for 55 years." ... "I have coached great football players for 55 years. If I tell you that Michael Robinson is one of the best football players I have ever coached and one of the best in the country, don't question me."

Publicly, school officials continue to back Paterno. Neither athletic director Tim Curley nor university president Graham Spanier has voiced any dissatisfaction with Paterno. Penn State's Board of Trustees, oft-rumored to be involved in a clandestine plot to unseat Paterno, has no say in the hiring and firing of coaches.

Oddly enough, when Paterno faces questions about picking a time to depart, he rarely, if ever, discusses the Lions' on-field performance or his ability to coach a high-functioning football team. He often says that he should step down only when he cannot physically perform the job. "I think about [retiring]," Paterno has said, "but I really feel comfortable as long as I can go to practice and have some enthusiasm."

A combination of Penn State's final two games in 2004 -- victories against Indiana and Michigan State -- and a mass of returning starters fosters Paterno's enthusiasm for next season. He loves his defense, which finished the year ranked 10^th in Division I-A and loses only two key players. It never allowed more than 21 points in a game, despite giving up scoring drives -- and this speaks mostly to a meek Penn State offense with a tendency for committing turnovers in its own territory -- of 1, 5, 5, 7 and 10 yards.

Penn State coaches will spend an offseason plotting ways to upgrade their offense, but some of the decisions might already be cast. Quarterback, for one. Only a few days ago, Jay Paterno said that Robinson -- not Morelli -- likely will enter spring as Penn State's starter.

"He'll be at quarterback next year, and Joe has said that to him," Jay Paterno said. "I think people will be surprised when Michael just plays quarterback how well he progresses. When you've got a fifth-year guy like that, you've got to start with him as the guy. We're not handing the job to him, but he's the guy you've got to beat out."

The 2005 season will help define the final subdivision of Paterno's career. Unlike a year ago, when Penn State entered the offseason reeling from a 3-9 record and little returning talent, this winter is threaded with a hint of hope. Paterno, who celebrates his 78^th birthday Dec. 21, would like at least one more memorable season -- and maybe more.

He hopes changes in Penn State's fortune will come, paradoxically, by his own unwillingness to change. By all accounts, offensive coordinator Galen Hall will return next season, as will -- of course -- Paterno, who signed a four-year contract extension in May.

"Is he going to leave?" Jay Paterno said of his father. "Not that I know of. To be honest with you, in the back of his mind, I think he's planning on playing out his contract."