Action News was there as Paterno, accompanied by his son Scott, left the family home in State College, Pa.
He appeared a few hours after his weekly news conference was abruptly cancelled amid a sex abuse scandal centered around former defensive coach Jerry Sandusky.
"I know you guys got a lot of questions, and I was hoping to be able to answer them today, but we'll try to do it soon - as soon as we can," Paterno said. "We can't do it today."
With that, Paterno made his way through the crowd of reporters, got in his car and headed to practice.
Earlier Tuesday, The New York Times reported that Penn State is planning Paterno's departure.
According to the paper:
Paterno's tenure as coach of the Penn State football team will soon be over, perhaps within days or weeks, in the wake of a sex-abuse scandal that has implicated university officials, according to two people briefed on conversations among the university's top officials.
Read more at The New York Times website.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that Joe Paterno's support among the Penn State board of trustees was described as "eroding" Tuesday.
A person familiar with the trustees' discussions and who used the term "eroding" said it was unclear what the consequences for Paterno will be and that a decision could be rendered before the board meets on Friday.
Penn State President Graham Spanier has also lost support among the Board of Trustees, the person said, but again, how much was unclear.
In his news conference, Paterno was expected to field questions about the sex-abuse scandal.
"Due to the ongoing legal circumstances centered around the recent allegations and charges, we have determined that today's press conference cannot be held and will not be rescheduled," assistant Athletic Director Jeff Nelson said in a statement.
Scott Paterno told The Associated Press that the decision was made by President Graham Spanier's office.
Scott said that his father was disappointed and was prepared to take questions about the scandal as well as the upcoming game against Nebraska.
On his Twitter account, Scott Paterno also dismissed the New York Times article, tweeting:
NYT report premature. No discussions about retirement with JVP.
The news conference was to be the first chance for reporters to ask Paterno about what he knew about Jerry Sandusky, his former defensive coordinator and one-time heir apparent, who was indicted on charges of sexually abusing eight boys over 15 years.
Authorities have said that Paterno, who testified in the grand jury proceedings that led to the charges, is not a target of the investigation. But the state police commissioner has chastised him and other school officials for not doing enough to try to stop the suspected abuse.
RELATED: Grand jury report in Penn State case - Graphic content
A person familiar with Sandusky's relationship with Penn State told The Associated Press that the former coach long maintained an office in the East Area Locker building which is across the street from the Penn State football team's building, and was on campus as recently as week ago working out.
The university's online directory listed Sandusky - whom Penn State officials said banned from campus over the weekend - as an assistant professor emeritus of physical education in the Lasch building.
The grand jury investigating Sandusky found that he was given the office, a parking pass and other amenities as part of his 1999 retirement package.
POLL: What should happen to Penn State Coach Joe Paterno?
Meanwhile, another potential victim has contacted authorities.
The man, now an adult, contacted the department on Sunday after seeing media accounts of Sandusky's arrest, Lt. David Young at the Montoursville station said. Investigators took a statement from him and forwarded it to the Rockview station for officers there to pursue, Young said.
The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, which first reported that the man had come forward, said he is in his 20s, knew Sandusky from The Second Mile charity and had never told his parents or authorities about the alleged encounters from about a decade ago.
Young declined to release the man's name or provide details about what he claims occurred.
The Patriot-News published a rare full, front-page editorial calling for this season to be Paterno's last.
"There are the obligations we all have to uphold the law. There are then the obligations we all have to do what is right," the editorial board wrote about Penn State President Graham Spanier's role in the sex abuse scandal, along with Paterno's.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, in an editorial, called on Paterno and Penn State president Graham Spanier to both resign, too.
Pennsylvania state police Commissioner Frank Noonan said Monday in Harrisburg that Paterno fulfilled his legal requirement when he relayed to university administrators that a graduate assistant had seen Sandusky attacking a young boy in the team's locker room shower in 2002. But the commissioner also questioned whether Paterno had a moral responsibility to do more.
"Somebody has to question about what I would consider the moral requirements for a human being that knows of sexual things that are taking place with a child," Noonan said.
"I think you have the moral responsibility, anyone. Not whether you're a football coach or a university president or the guy sweeping the building. I think you have a moral responsibility to call us."
Stay with Action News and 6abc.com as this story develops
