Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/180984
Where it all started Mike Munchak's Penn State roots helped him achieve NFL success M ike Munchak is the first to acknowledge that the seeds of his success in the NFL, both as a player and more recently as a coach, were first sown at Penn State. After all, the Scranton, Pa., native came to Happy Valley as a defensive player who never really found a home on that side of the ball for the Nittany Lions. At Penn State, he switched to the offensive line and thanks to the tutelage of Joe Paterno and offensive line coach Dick Anderson, his transition to offense was relatively easy. He would have been a three-year starter were it not for an injury that sidelined him for his junior season in 1980. But Munchak rebounded as a senior and was selected fifth overall by Houston in the 1982 NFL Draft. He then played 12 professional seasons, earning nine trips to the Pro Bowl and a spot on the 1980s All-Decade Team. And in 2001 he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a nice achievement for a guy who had OPEN MIKE Munchak is in his third season as the Titans' head coach. He played for the team for 12 seasons when it was located in Houston and later became its offensive line coach. Photo courtesy of the Tennessee Titans never played on the offensive line before arriving at Penn State. Of course, the man who is now in his third season as head coach of the NFL's Tennessee Titans knows that's where it all started for him – in Happy Valley. "I grew up there and I learned how to play offensive line at Penn State, he said. " "When I went there, I never had any idea that's where I'd end up. Coach Dick Anderson taught me how to play the position and really gave me the knowledge in my coaching career that I learned there. I graduated with a degree in business, which meant a lot to me also, and really liked it there. A lot of good things, a lot