Jan. 3, 2009
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Muffled voices in the hallway echoed into the room where Joe Paterno held court, before two retired coaches barged in unannounced.
Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer offered their own unique brand of encouragement to the 82-year-old Paterno.
"You look good, Joe. Keep after it. To hell with those" people, Switzer interjected Friday after the coaches exchanged hardy handshakes with Paterno. "Keep doing what you're doing."
All three men have won national championships, but only Paterno is still coaching.
And he's not joining them in retirement any time soon - Paterno's new three-year contract extension takes care of that.
Next goal: get back to the sideline.
A hip injury relegated Paterno to the press box for much of the regular season, and JoePa spent the Rose Bowl there, too. Six weeks after surgery, he still hasn't quite built up the stamina to pace the field for four hours.
"Oh yeah ... I think I got it all done and behind me," Paterno said when asked if he looked forward to returning to the field in 2009. "I'm looking forward to getting to be part of the winter program, the whole bit."
As much as he sought to coach the Nittany Lions from the field for the Rose Bowl, Paterno thought he might be too much of a distraction to his players.
It turns out his team could have used the diversion after falling behind 31-7 at halftime en route to a 38-24 loss to Southern California.
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"I don't know whether it's important to the team, but it's important to me," Paterno told reporters about returning to the sideline. "I'm frustrated. That was very frustrating. I don't know if I could have changed anything."
At the same time, he wanted badly to join his players on the field.
"I'm not down there telling some of those guys they had to wake up, that kind of thing," Paterno said. "Just being around the kids when things started to go bad, you look to be around them. ... It was frustrating."
Even more frustrating was the pain from the sore hip that hobbled him all season. The injury occurred two days before the first game of the season in August, while Paterno was trying to demonstrate an onside kick in practice.
As the season went on, Paterno tried to downplay the injury, often just telling reporters he had a "thing with my leg."
It ended up being much more serious than that, enough that Paterno acknowledged Friday the thought had crossed his mind that the injury could bring an end to his Hall of Fame career.
Surgery relieved the pain and had Paterno thinking long term again.
"Before the operation, every day was an ordeal, physically, regardless of football or what," Paterno said. "It was tough to concentrate, and then coming out here where I was hoping to be on the sideline, and I was disappointed I couldn't be. That's all behind me now."
"It was a good year, a productive year," he added. "But I'm glad for me, for me, that it's over."
Paterno heaped praise on his veteran coaching staff for getting Penn State to a second Big Ten title and BCS berth in four seasons. He hinted his deal also includes some job security for his assistants.
"One thing I was concerned about other than signing a contract was the future of the staff," Paterno said. "The university leaned over backward, that nobody had to worry about security for a while.
"That was important so the coaches can go out there (recruiting) and feel comfortable and look people in the eye and say, 'We're all going to be around,"' Paterno said. "You're going to be around the people who are talking to you."
He's unsure, though, how extensively he'll be able to travel to recruit in the coming weeks, in part because his doctor remains concerned about long flights.
"They got me on so many pills, for crying out loud," he said.
The Big Ten champions could contend for a conference title again in 2009 with quarterback Daryll Clark and tailback Evan Royster returning, though the coaching staff has lots of other holes to fill.
Receivers Derrick Williams and Deon Butler, center A.Q. Shipley and all four starters in the secondary are among the key players who must be replaced.
Through Jan. 1, 2009
Most Bowl Games, Career
| Joe Paterno | 35 |
| Bobby Bowden | 32 |
| Bear Bryant | 29 |
| Tom Osborne | 25 |
| LaVell Edwards | 22 |
| Lou Holtz | 22 |
| Vince Dooley | 20 |
Most Bowl Victories
| Joe Paterno | 23 |
| Bobby Bowden | 21 |
| Bear Bryant | 15 |
| Lou Holtz | 12 |
| Tom Osborne | 12 |
| Mack Brown | 10 |
| Don James | 10 |
| John Vaught | 10 |
Most Bowl Victories, Active Coaches
| Joe Paterno | 23 |
| Bobby Bowden | 21 |
| Mack Brown | 10 |
| Frank Beamer | 7 |
| Steve Spurrier | 7 |
| Pete Carroll | 6 |
| Mark Richt | 6 |
| Howard Schnellenberger | 6 |
| Bill Snyder | 6 |
Most Years Taking One College To Bowl Game
| Joe Paterno | 35 |
| Bobby Bowden | 30 |
| Tom Osborne | 25 |
| Bear Bryant | 24 |
| LaVell Edwards | 22 |
| Vince Dooley | 20 |