ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Mike Munchak is in his first year as head coach of the NFL's Tennessee Titans.
Penn State's next head coach evidently won't be from Scranton.
It won't even be the man reported by some media outlets to be the search committee's top target.
Mike Munchak says he's happy where he is, thank you very much.
In his strongest comments to date on the speculation that his hiring as Penn State's next head coach might be imminent, the Tennessee Titans head coach and Scranton native said Wednesday he has "no interest" in succeeding Joe Paterno as the Nittany Lions' head coach next season.
"I love my alma mater, but I have no interest in being the head coach at Penn State," Munchak told The Tennessean. "I never want to leave Tennessee. I have a great deal of respect for Penn State, and I hope they find a great coach there. But I am happy where I'm at."
Despite rampant speculation that Munchak's loyalty to Penn State might lead him back to Happy Valley to contribute in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal that led to the firings of Paterno and university president Graham Spanier, as well as perjury charges against athletic director Tim Curley, it appears to be loyalty that will keep him away. Munchak has been part of the Titans organization since 1982, when owner Bud Adams and the then-Houston Oilers drafted him in the first round after a stellar career as a guard with the Nittany Lions.
The Scranton Central graduate is one of the organization's greatest icons. In 2001, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and after spending more than a decade as the Titans' offensive line coach, he achieved his dream of becoming an NFL head coach in February when Adams hired him to replace longtime Titans coach Jeff Fisher.
Munchak is one of just five Penn State players to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he's the only former Penn State player ever to be named a head coach in the NFL.
In his first season, the Titans are 8-7 and still alive in the race for the second wildcard berth in the AFC heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
For his part, Munchak - who has a three-year contract with the Titans - said he has not talked to anybody at Penn State about the opening or the coaching search, in spite of reports that he might indeed have been at the top of the wish list for acting athletic director Dave Joyner and the search committee. Committee members have been tight-lipped in regards to the coaching search over the last several weeks, and few coaches have publicly acknowledged their interest in the job, never mind interviewing for it.
Interim coach Tom Bradley has interviewed, as have quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno and co-defensive coordinator Larry Johnson. A pair of Green Bay Packers assistants - quarterbacks coach Tom Clements and former Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers safety Darren Perry - have said they would like to be considered.
Initially, Joyner said he hoped the coaching search would be completed before the bowl game, but in a statement released last week, he preached patience, saying a deliberate search was necessary to ensure the right coach would be hired. According to sources, it appears the earliest the university would introduce a new coach is the first week of January.
It appears that whoever that coach is won't be the man considered by so many to be the front-runner.
"It is not like I'm saying I want nothing to do with Penn State," Munchak told The Tennessean. "I am interested in what happens there, and I don't want to distance myself from Penn State.
"My point is, I have no interest in being the head coach there."
Contact the writer: dcollins@timesshamrock.com
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