Report: James Franklin, Mike Munchak and Greg Schiano have inquired about possible Penn State opening
By Jack Crosby
On Sunday, news broke that Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Bill O’Brien had reached out to the school administration about possibly lowering the buyout figure in his contract, thus opening the door for a move to the NFL to be a bit easier.
O’Brien has done great things at Penn State in the two seasons that he’s been at the helm, especially considering he stepped right in before the Nittany Lions were slapped with some harsh sanctions stemming from the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
Penn State definitely got lucky landing O’Brien. But now the question is who would replace the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator, should he decide that is is time to move on back to the NFL?
Well, David Jones of PennLive.com points out that, because those sanctions are not only fading away as time goes by but also will be lightened up by the NCAA, there have already been some representatives of some high-profile that have inquired about the possible opening in Happy Valley.
According to Jones, Vanderbilt’s James Franklin, Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano have all had their reps check in with Penn State about the job.
Franklin, at this point, is the hot name when any collegiate job comes up, given what he’s done at a school like Vanderbilt. Most recently, he’s been said to be at the top of the list for the Texas Longhorns’ opening.
Munchak makes a ton of sense, seeing as he’s one of the best to ever play at Penn State before starting his hall-of-fame pro career.
Schiano was rumored to want to be the head man in Happy Valley even when Joe Paterno was still around and he was coaching at Rutgers still. Of these three names, though, I’m not sure Penn State would want to bring in someone with the reputation of Schiano, especially after this season in Tampa.