Report: Mike Munchak eyed for PSU job

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Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak has been targeted by a Penn State search panel as the successor to fired Hall of Famer Joe Paterno, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday.

According to the newspaper's anonymous sources, Munchak and Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements are the leading candidates to replace Paterno, but Munchak is the panel's top choice.

Munchak

Munchak played on Paterno's offensive line from 1978-81.

However, Munchak informed Penn State that he wasn't interested in leaving the NFL for the opening when he was contacted early in the search process, an NFL source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

And Munchak said in a text to the (Nashville) Tennessean on Monday night that "nothing is going on" with the Penn State job. "People like to speculate."

Munchak, who was a Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the-then Houston Oilers, "would be a great fit" in State College, according to former Nittany Lions tailback Curt Warner.

"He's a Penn State guy," Warner told the Post-Gazette. "I don't think any of his old teammates would be upset about him getting the job at all. He has my support. I'd love to see him get it."

Munchak, 51, was hired as the Titans franchise's 16th coach in February, his first head coaching job after 14 seasons coaching Tennessee's offensive line. Before that, he started at the entry-level position as quality control assistant with the offensive staff through 1996.

Paterno was fired in November in the aftermath of child sex-abuse charges against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who maintains his innocence. Paterno is not a target of the investigation.

Information from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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