STATE COLLEGE — Penn State may still be without a replacement for fired coach Joe Paterno by the time the Nittany Lions play in the TicketCity Bowl on Jan. 2

The six-person search committee is taking a “very deliberate and measured approach to the process in order to identify the coach that best fits the requirements of the position,” acting athletic director Dave Joyner said Thursday in a written statement.

School president Rodney Erickson and Joyner had both said they hoped to have a new coach before No. 24 Penn State’s bowl game.

But Thursday, Joyner said a new coach would be introduced “at the appropriate time,” and the statement offered no specific timeline.