The U.S. Bureau of Labor reports the number of people older than 75 still working in this country is less than a million, which seems a bit small, given the amount of seniors populating Wal-Mart staffs and getting hosed with minimum-wage “salaries.” Whatever the case, 81-year old Joseph Vincent Paterno is one of those hard-working stiffs who still remember the Great Depression and the days when Notre Dame was a college football power.

While JoePa still worries about FICA and whether he should be paying the maximum into his 401(k) plan, there are plenty of people in the Penn State community concerned about whether their coach is interested in sticking around until his Happy Hour cocktail becomes a Jack Daniels and Metamucil with a Geritol chaser. Forget about Red Bull. At JoePa’s age, he doesn’t need anything to keep him awake. There are plenty of things in his body doing that already.

It’s fun to make sport of college football’s senior senior citizen. (At least he isn’t wearing silly hats and listening to Eddy Arnold tunes in his headphones, like Bobby Bowden.) At Penn State, Paterno’s future is serious business. The events of the past 18 months underscore that fact and have created a situation in Happy Valley that has begun to cause people to worry about the program’s chances for continued prosperity. Five years ago, Paterno started hearing the calls for him to retire, and he dismissed them out of hand. Fair enough. He was a spry 76 with enough energy to go another half-decade – and beyond. Another half-decade later, there are worries about the next step.

Don’t get El Hombre wrong. This isn’t some ageist rant against the elderly. Paterno still works as hard as most head coaches. He remains active on the practice field, following drills, making corrections and – literally – kicking ass. A couple weeks ago at practice, he had to stick his foot against the posterior of a lineman who was having trouble making the transition to center. His assistant coaches talk constantly about how engaged he is, painting a picture not of Pop-Pop’s nodding off at meetings and awakening to wonder how to stop the single wing, but of a leader with something to add.

The question is whether anybody is saying that about Les Miles or Pete Carroll. Do we wonder whether they are still contributing? Do we marvel at how they are able to notice small things in drills and correct them? The answer, of course, is no. And the mere fact that Paterno’s supporters must continue to relay anecdotes about his continuing influence is enough to make it clear that something must be done.

Joe must (get ready to) go.

That sentence is not written out of spite or anger. It isn’t born of some antagonistic stance toward Penn State. As a proud graduate of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology-Zurich, El Hombre has no specific college football allegiance. Were he, say, a Michigan fan, EH would no doubt want JoePa to stick around, since the Wolverines have beaten PSU nine straight times. This is not about an 81-year old’s ability to do a job. It’s about the perception that the Nittany Lion program is run by someone who needs people to defend his ability to perform. And we’re not talking Cialis here. We’re talking about running a winning program.

Penn State’s nine-game losing streak to Michigan is not the only blemish on the Paterno mark these days. The Nittany Lions are 2-6 in their last eight against Ohio State. They’re 3-5 against Wisconsin. They have played in two BCS bowl games in the past 13 years. Worse, the once-pristine off-field ledger has been sullied during the past two years by numerous arrests, suspensions and dismissals. Penn State remains above reproach when it comes to NC2A business, but its players are not behaving well. And no matter how much positive publicity Paterno’s remedy – cleaning up Beaver Stadium the Sunday after home games – received, were this an SEC school, the coach would be getting fried. Paterno is combative when discussing the arrests (the most recent involved one player’s pulling a knife on another in the cafeteria) and appears to believe his team should be above any criticism.

It isn’t. Paterno, however, is. That’s what makes this call to action so hard. His record of largesse to the school is well-documented and a beacon for other coaches, who make way more and give back much less. His commitment to the education of his players – and the general student population – is unprecedented in his field. Most football coaches worry only about eligibility. Paterno wants his guys to learn something. Simply put, without Joe Paterno, Penn State would be not be considered one of the top 15 state universities in the country.

El Hombre’s long-held belief was that because of his service to the school, Paterno could stay around “until someone had to pre-chew his food.” The school owed him that. And Paterno didn’t owe the school a damn thing.

His credit rating remains pristine. It’s just that Penn State is competing in one of the most cutthroat businesses out there. Rival recruiters are sitting down with top prospects and saying, “Yeah, the Old Man is really something. But do you think he’ll be still running the show when he’s 86?” No one’s wishing Paterno ill will, but the coaching actuarial tables don’t run into the late ‘80s. They barely reach the late ‘70s. The nation is graying, but college football is, more than ever, a young man’s game. Every time Paterno stands defiantly against those asking for him to step down, he gets a big cheer. He also provides ammunition for the competition, which can gently remind recruits of Paterno’s age.

Last month, PSU president Graham Spanier and president Tim Curley met with Paterno to discuss the future. The first time that happened, Paterno told them to pound sand. He had the same approach this time, but Spanier and Curley didn’t back down so quickly. Paterno’s contract runs out after the ’08 season, and he doesn’t have a new one on the desk awaiting his signature. Curley has said Paterno can keep working without one, but again, where is the security for an 18-year old stud D-tackle in that arrangement? With no contract and no succession plan, Paterno has put the program to which he has devoted so much energy at risk. He needs to set forth a plan for his retirement. Wisconsin did it. Purdue has done it. So has Florida State.

The Badgers and Boilers had definite timetables, but the FSU model is more instructive in Paterno’s case. Bowden hasn’t said when he’ll step down, just that when he does, Jimbo Fisher takes over. There are financial guarantees in there on both ends, but at least Seminole conscripts can meet Fisher and decide whether they like his style. Paterno needs to do the same thing with defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, one of the nation’s top recruiters and a keen strategist. Anoint him the successor. Then keep kicking ass as long as you want. That way, Paterno can feed his passion while accepting the inevitable and preparing PSU for the future. If Bradley were in place as the next head coach, perhaps star QB Terrelle Pryor, whose father had developed a strong bond with the assistant, might have chosen PSU over “the University of Ohio State,” as if the Nittany Lions needed all of his baggage. We’ll never know. But there are other Terrelle Pryors out there, and they need to know.

Paterno fears that the end of his coaching career will also be the end of his life, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are plenty of things for a vibrant 80-something man to do. And if golf, gardening, lecturing, fundraising, volunteering, babysitting and continuing education don’t appeal to JoePa, there is another avenue.

They’re always hiring at Wal-Mart. . . .

EL HOMBRE SEZ: How about those riveting Sawx-Yanks games? Thank goodness there are 75 more of them this season…Longtime El Hombre compadre Deep Nose checks in with this observation about the hockey and high-def TVs: “HDTV will save hockey,” Deep Nose said while trying to find a way to keep his schnozz out of a beer glass. “People can see the puck now.” He has a point. Watching hockey in HD is pretty cool…Here’s to all those protestors and boycotters out there keeping the pressure on China as the Beijing Olympics approach. Don’t let up. And don’t let cowardly world leaders and Olympic officials silence your voices…UCLA center Kevin Love is set to announce his decision on whether he’ll leave school for the NBA Draft. Oh, the intrigue! It’s just as compelling as the drama surrounding the decisions by Eric Gordon, Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose…Shame on you, Brett Favre, for putting a bulls-eye on the back of Aaron Rodgers with your comments about how you’d consider a return to football if the Packer QB were injured. It was bad enough when espn mourned your retirement as if a head of state died. Now, you’re considering a jump back into the fray? Uh-uh. . . .