OT: Munchak #1 target for Penn State Head Coach

Submitted by nmumike on

Munchak played for PSU and is currently head coach for the Tennessee Titans. Also rumored to be on that list were/are Chris Peterson from Boise State and Tom Clements from Green Bay. It will be interesting to see who eventually takes this job, and when it happens.

Here is the link

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8257b0e5/article/titans-coach-mun…

Bronson

December 28th, 2011 at 7:57 AM ^

So, they're targeting an NFL head coach to take over at a college football program currently being accused of facilitating pedophilia...got it. They've apparently removed their collective head from their ass only to immediately plant it firmly and irretrievably into the highest of clouds.

O Fo Sho

December 28th, 2011 at 8:03 AM ^

Announcement today at 4pm?? !!  WTKA is talking about this right now and speculating what this announcement could be about.  Moving the OSU game, hopefully nothing negative with the NCAA......  Any ideas??

jmdblue

December 28th, 2011 at 8:53 AM ^

Doubt it, but I would love it. 

ND has told the B1G "no" in such a disrespectful way so many times I don't think our conference should be stocking thier schedule.  Lets do a home and home (in consecutive years) with them before our conference season starts once every 10 or 15 years.  Sparty and Purdue could do the same.  Let 'em find opponents willing to interupt their conference seasons to play them. The academies sould do it, but no one else should outside of Central Fla.

Mr Miggle

December 28th, 2011 at 1:01 PM ^

The B1G teams all play ND before the conference season starts. Those games would be very easy for ND to replace. They're also bigger games to MSU and (especially) Purdue. The chances of Purdue scheduling regular home and homes with a comparable draw are zero.

I don't like ND, but I don't see how they've been disrespectful to the B1G.

Look Up_See Blue

December 28th, 2011 at 8:42 AM ^

yesterday morning while driving to work and listening to sports radio in Nashville, Don Kaharski (sp?) who covers the AFC South and is a weekly guest in the studio all but assured the listeners that Munchak isn't going anywhere.  But it's not like a member of the media has never been wrong before.  

bluebyyou

December 28th, 2011 at 8:50 AM ^

Until the dust settles, why would any coach concerned about his future take the job.  Unless Sandusky cops a plea or falls on a sword, we have a huge trial coming up and then, unless people are very generous writing checks for the matter ot go away, we will see a line of civil litigations and possible NCAA penalties just for the heck of it.  

How do you recruit?

Why would anyone want to associate with the program until you know what you have to work with?

M-Dog

December 28th, 2011 at 9:36 AM ^

Yes, the biggest problem is that PSU fans are used to success.  They're not Indiana.  They will forget why they are struggling and blame it on the coach.  And that coach will not have JoePa's iconic status to buffer against the losing seasons.

In short, a new coach will be going into a Washington State recruiting situation, but with USC expectations.

Leaders And Best

December 28th, 2011 at 8:55 AM ^

With the ongoing scandal, they will not be able to hire a better candidate.  He is a NFL Hall of Famer with years of experience coaching the offensive line.  People in the Titans organization love him.  The only negative would be that he has never coached in college, but if he retained some of the current staff like Bradley and Larry Johnson, he would be able to overcome that pretty quickly.

APBlue

December 28th, 2011 at 9:08 AM ^

I agree that he would be a great hire.  Keeping Bradley and Johnson Sr. would help with his immediate transition.  However, keeping anyone that's been there for any length of time would be a problem when the NCAA comes knocking.  This disregards the fact that they should be dumped simply for the sake of their collective inaction.  

How do you keep people that (big assumption here) knew what was going on?  There's no way to convince me that anyone that's been there since '98 or before didn't know what was going on.  

They have to clean house.  

jblaze

December 28th, 2011 at 9:10 AM ^

that OSU kept their entire staff, AD, President, and Compliance staff (I think). JoePa didn't break any NCAA or legal rules and neither did anyone below him (morally, they were all disgusting, but that's not an NCAA violations thing).

The NCAA won't (and can't) do anything to PSU, the lawsuits will kill them, however. 

BradP

December 28th, 2011 at 9:21 AM ^

The man is making a few million dollars as the HC of the NFL team he has spent 30 years with.  Not only that but the team is overacheiving and in playoff contention.

I don't see this happening, but considering the track record of NFL head coaches who jump to the college ranks, Munchak's career track (OL Coach for 14 years before becoming a head coach), and Penn State's current situation, I would be happy if it did.

The most likely result of this would be 4-5 years of a middling 6-6 to 8-4 Penn State team that Hoke could feast on.

Moe Greene

December 28th, 2011 at 9:45 AM ^

This is not happening. They're going to have to lower their expectations a bit.

Just as their fans are going to have to lower their expectations moving forward.

The ride is over. Not even those dumb shits in zombie masks will be coming to games in a few years....

Carcajous

December 28th, 2011 at 9:53 AM ^

He has never coached a down in college, never recruited, never dealt with alumni as a coach, never had to do all the other things a college HC has to do....

He might end up being great at all these things and might be the best they can do at this point, but I don't see any indication that he is anything other than a roll of the dice as a college HC.

Voodlezang

December 28th, 2011 at 10:02 AM ^

According to Adam Schefter on Twitter (@AdamSchefter), Penn State approached Munchak, but was told he (Munchak) was not interested. Back to the drawing board...

Sckon

December 28th, 2011 at 10:33 AM ^

Penn St should go after an up and coming lower DI coach who would jump at the offer. Do they really think an NFL coach is going to walk into that wasteland? Their high expectations are going to kill the program. Consider the next two years recruiting to be dead for them.

HighKnees

December 28th, 2011 at 12:25 PM ^

Yikes.  Sounds like Penn State is:

a).  in an unwinnable situation

b).  as delusional as Bill Martin in his pursuit of Tony Dungy.

I agree with Sckon.  Their best play is to take a risk on a young up-and-comer here.  No established name is going to touch them, unless it's an established name with a poor track record who can't get a job somewhere else.

This brings me to a larger gripe about coaching searches:  they seem to be completely based on resumes these days.  Coaches get hired after the briefest of courtship periods, without (what would seem to be) a good chance for a solid interview.  In most other job searches, the resume gets you in the door, but the interview is the key.  Why doesn't that apply to high profile college football coaching?  I mean, back in the day, schools hired Bo and JoePa as young, unproven head coaches (I know Joe Pa rose from an assistant position, but he was untested as HC).  Those hires were based on ADs making the right call based on the character of the coaches. 

Is it just that recruiting and media hype demand big splashes from name brands?

marco dane

December 28th, 2011 at 3:46 PM ^

Bradley until the dust settle? It isn't like a *celebirty coach* is going to touch that pile of mess. Then you go out and survey the coaching landscape for the next up-and-coming coach. 

 

mackbru

December 28th, 2011 at 10:19 PM ^

I think people are wrong about PSU being a bad job. More likely than not, this won't result in sanctions. The problems, though huge, are a separate issue. They don't involve recruiting or players or competitive advantages -- and those are the issues the ncaa polices. And blue-chip programs are remarkably resilient. The school will be down for s while. But the program won't. If I were an up and coming coach, I'd jump at the job.