Titans Pass On Giants' Fewell, Hire Munchak
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- Chalk up another near-miss for Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.
The Tennessee Titans have hired offensive line coach Mike Munchak to replace Jeff Fisher as the franchise's 16th head coach.
The Titans confirmed the hiring Monday.
Fewell, who has been passed over for head coaching positions with the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns, interviewed with Tennessee on Friday.
By interviewing Fewell, the Titans satisfied the Rooney rule by talking with a minority candidate.
"I've learned from each and every interview I've been on," Fewell told The Tennessean on Friday. "I don't get tired of the calls. It's exciting to get the opportunity. There are only 32 of these jobs, so it's a real honor and I'm humbled to be called by one of those teams."
Munchak was the first man interviewed to replace Fisher and had been considered the top candidate as a favorite of team owner Bud Adams. Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger also interviewed for the job.
This will be the first head coaching job for Munchak, who turns 51 in March, with the only franchise the offensive line coach and Hall of Fame lineman has ever played or worked for since being selected eighth overall by the then-Houston Oilers in 1982.
Fewell spent 2010 as defensive coordinator with the Giants. He had been defensive coordinator in Buffalo under Dick Jauron until he was fired, and Fewell was interim head coach of the Bills for the final seven games, going 3-4.
The North Carolina native started coaching in college and is familiar with Nashville from his stint at Vanderbilt, where he coached the secondary from 1995-97.
Tom Coughlin hired Fewell in Jacksonville in 1998 as his defensive backs coach, and he stayed in that job through 2002. Fewell coached St. Louis' secondary in 2003-04 and was with Chicago in 2005, when the Bears had an NFC-best 24 interceptions with Pro Bowl selections in Nathan Vasher and Mike Brown.
Fewell went to Buffalo as Jauron's defensive coordinator in 2006, running the Bills' 3-4 defense. It allowed only 14 touchdown passes in his last two seasons, and the Bills tied for fifth in the NFL with 33 takeaways. That's a category the Titans struggled in this season.
Coughlin hired Fewell again in January 2010 as his defensive coordinator.
Was this Fewell's last chance to land a head coaching job this offseason? Sound off in the comments below...
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