LOS ANGELES — The Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and Jimmy Stewart of coaching filled a tiny conference room at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel, home to the Golden Globes.

Three titans of football — Joe Paterno, Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson — gabbed it up for a few moments. The trio has combined to win six national championships in college football, but only one is still coaching.

Paterno is returning next year for his 44th season as head coach at Penn State. A few weeks ago, he was awarded a three-year contract extension. A few months earlier, though, as he battled a balky right hip, the 82-year-old icon thought that maybe the end was finally here.

"I did before the (hip-replacement) operation," Paterno said Friday. "I think everybody at my age (thinks it) when you got aches and pains, and you can't do some things you like to do."

A day after the Nittany Lions were ambushed by Southern Cal, 38-24, in the Rose Bowl, Paterno met with beat reporters to wrap up the season and look briefly ahead. But just as the bull session — as he refers to it — began, two familiar faces poked their very tanned heads into the room.

"To hell with them —," Switzer said to Paterno, referring to the media. "You keep doing what you're doing."

Paterno got up from his chair and greeted his former rivals, who work at nearby Fox studios. Johnson told him that he looked good. And Paterno does, considering the year he's had. But it was hard not to notice the difference between the active coach and the former ones now in broadcasting, even if they are 11 and 17 years younger.

Paterno has more hair than Switzer, 71, and less silver on his mane than Johnson, 65, but he has aged some during a physically grueling season.

"I'm glad it's over," Paterno said. "It's been a tough year for me, personally. But in a lot of ways it was rewarding because a lot of people came to the front to make sure these kids had an opportunity to have as good a year as they've had."

Despite a disappointing end, Penn State had a successful season, better than most projected. The Lions finished 11-2 and won their second Big Ten title in four years. They did it in spite of the fact that their head coach was limited to a golf cart during practices and to the press box for the final eight games.

"I don't know if it's important for the team, but it's important for me," Paterno said of returning to the sidelines. "I'm frustrated. ... You're up there and (USC coach) Pete Carroll is barking at the officials and grabbing them and the whole bit, and I'm sitting upstairs."

As a result of the Nov. 23 surgery, Paterno said he suffers no pain in his leg. He does get tired rather quickly, though, and he hopes to resume his walking regimen.

Still, he's the same person in many ways. On ABC's broadcast of the Rose Bowl, sideline reporter Lisa Salters reported that Paterno skipped a scheduled interview with the network.

"I just said I'm not going," Paterno said.

He also refused to open his team's locker room after the game, which is standard procedure for BCS bowls. The program could be fined for both.

"I haven't got the slightest idea, and, to be honest, I don't care," Paterno said. "There's a limit to how much you can expose your football team."

As for the future, Paterno said it was important that not only he was given an extension but also that his assistants were covered in the deal. He expects his entire staff to return.

"The university leaned over backwards so nobody had to worry about some security for a while," he said.

It should also help with recruiting, although Penn State has already secured 22 commitments. Paterno wasn't sure if he'd be able to hit the trail during the final month before signing day. He has made only one visit over the last three years.

Some of the team's needs have been addressed, but Paterno will be pressed to replace seniors at wide receiver, on the offensive line, and in the secondary.

"I think defensive secondary is a concern, and that's been one of the main thrusts of our recruiting," Paterno said. "Other than that, I think we need a couple of offensive linemen that need to come to the forefront."