Penn State senior center A.Q. Shipley said something so innocently the other day that it almost slipped by. When asked if his disappointment from the brutal one-point loss to Iowa Nov. 8 was increased because it denied coach Joe Paterno one final shot at another national championship, he virtually dismissed the question. "I'm sure he's going to have many more great teams here."

Think about that for a second.

Paterno turns 82 Dec. 21. He had hip replacement surgery Sunday. And Shipley thinks he's going to have "many more" great teams?

Hey, I can't blame the kid.

After what Paterno pulled off this season against staggering odds, anything seems possible.

Even four or five more championship-caliber squads.

It seems clear the Penn State administration wanted Paterno out after this season. President Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley wouldn't give him a contract extension in the summer even though he was in the final year of his deal. They wouldn't even hint publicly that he would return in 2009, saying they would discuss his future after the season.

Taking that a step further, it also seems clear Spanier and Curley want a total break from the Paterno era. Why else haven't they named longtime defensive coordinator Tom Bradley as Paterno's replacement-in-waiting? Naming such replacements has become a trend in college athletics -- Texas was the latest football power to do it when it said defensive coordinator Will Muschamp would take over for Mack Brown when the time came. That Penn State hasn't done that for Bradley doesn't say much for its long-term plans for him.

That's why I suggested in the summer that a 6-6 record this season would help the Penn State administration make the changes it wants. Even Paterno's most loyal supporters would have to agree it was time. That's no disrespect toward Paterno; he's the greatest college football coach of all time and has done just as much for the university in terms of name recognition and fund-raising as he has by winning 383 games. But the time comes for everyone.

Not Paterno, though.

Not now, at least.

Even though Penn State wasn't a Big Ten Conference favorite and started the season No. 22 in the polls, it went 11-1, will play in the Rose Bowl Jan. 1 and came within that 24-23 loss at Iowa of playing for the national title. That's a tribute to Paterno's staff, especially Bradley and offensive coordinator Galen Hall. Paterno's son, Jay, his quarterbacks coach, also deserves credit because his bond with Daryll Clark brought out the best in Clark.

It's hard to say how much coaching Paterno still does. He frequently works at home during the week. At many games this season, because of his hip problem, he wasn't on the field for the warm-ups and sat in the press box, not even going to the locker room at halftime.

That's not coaching to me.

That also doesn't matter when you go 11-1.

It must have all but killed Paterno to sit in a golf cart at practice. He joked that he likes being in the press box for the games -- "You don't get wet" -- but don't believe it. He said last week he plans on running out of the Beaver Stadium tunnel to the sideline next season. That's important to him.

But Paterno's physical limitations didn't hurt Penn State. He deserves tremendous praise for keeping everything together during a time when many critics took their best shots at him and his players. It's funny, he did the same thing after the '04 season -- Penn State's fourth losing season in five years -- when Spanier and Curley asked for his resignation only to be turned away. Penn State went 11-1 in '05, beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl and came within a controversial 27-25 loss at Michigan from playing for the national championship.

Does Paterno have a great sense of timing or what?

Actually, you have no idea.

The silence from Spanier and Curley about Paterno's future -- even now after Penn State's marvelous season -- remains deafening. But that hasn't stopped Paterno from very publicly announcing he'll be back next season, contract or no contract. He did it at a pep rally Friday night before the final regular-season game against Michigan State, then again after Penn State thumped the Spartans, 49-18, to earn its share of the Big Ten title and the slot in the Rose Bowl.

Spanier and Curley will look like fools if they don't bring Paterno back for another season.

The man didn't get to be major college football's winningest coach without understanding leverage.

But this isn't 2004. This Paterno return could come at a little higher cost. It could cost Penn State Bradley.

Bradley has been with the program for 30 years. He, too, has to be wondering about that replacement-in-waiting business. It's unfair and unrealistic to expect him to wait forever for Paterno to retire with no indication that he's next in line.

The Syracuse job will be open after the season. Bradley would be foolish not to explore it. Syracuse officials will be idiots if they don't make a big push for him. A terrific recruiter with high-school ties all over the Northeast, he could bring in players to make Syracuse a winner.

Spanier and Curley should remember that when they finally and reluctantly get around to publicly endorsing another season for Paterno. If, as I suspect, they really don't care if Bradley leaves, fine. But if there's any chance they want him as their next head coach, say in '10 or '15 or even '20, now is the time to step up and scream it.