Mike Munchak turned down an extension with the Tennessee Titans earlier this week and was ultimately fired as the team’s head coach on Saturday. He may have another job already lined up, though.
Munchak will interview for the Penn State head coaching job this week, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. There is mutual interest from both sides about a potential deal, per the NFL Network.
Munchak graduated from Penn State in 1982 and was an All-American offensive guard during his playing career there. He was then drafted eighth overall by the then Houston Oilers and played 12 seasons with the franchise, being named to 10 All-Pro teams, before retiring and joining the team’s coaching staff. He had spent his entire coaching career with the Titans before parting ways on Saturday, serving as an offensive assistant while the team was still in Houston (1994-1996) and as the offensive line coach (1997-2010) before taking over as head coach before the 2011 season.
The 53-year-old went 22-26 in three seasons at the helm in Tennessee. The Titans narrowly missed the playoffs in his first season with the team, finishing second in the AFC South with a 9-7 record. They regressed in 2012, though, closing out a disappointing campaign at 6-10, before rebounding this season with a 7-9 record, even with starting quarterback Jake Locker unavailable for much of the season.
Penn State has been searching for a new head coach for only a few days now, as Bill O’Brien, who coached the team for the past two seasons, left the school to take over as head coach of the Houston Texans on Friday. Vanderbilt’s James Franklin, Miami’s Al Golden and recently fired Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano have also been rumored as potential replacements.
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